Loki's Pain
by Rathian Empress
Summary: Takes place right after Loki falls off bridge in Thor. Loki is saved from the Void by Thanos and starts to think he's fallen in love with him. He controls Loki using him for his own plans. Loki meets Tony, and falls in love for real, finds what love really is. Rated M later chapters. M/M. Story better than sounds. First fic. Part 1 of Trials of A Dammed Soul series
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

Loki was surrounded by complete darkness. It felt as though he'd been falling for days. He wasn't sure of the time anymore. Inside the Void, time was different than it was on Asgard. As more time passed, as he fell deeper into the darkness, he grew certain of two things: 1. the Void was endless and this could go on for eternity, and 2. he was going to die here.

* * *

Thanos watched as the god floated through the Void. He rose to his feet to take a closer look at the black scrying crystal. He smiled in satisfaction as he surveyed what was happening.

"Make preperations to accommodate our future guest." he said to Islis, the creature at his side. The creature looked up at Thanos. "What if he refuses to join you my lord?" it asked. Thanos allowed himself a low, grating chuckle. "He will not refuse the offer I have for him." he replied confidently. "How can you be so sure he will not turn against you? What could you possibly have that he could want that would guarantee you his complete obediance?"

Thanos frowned at the Islis' boldness. "He will join us because of two reasons. First, I can give him the choice of remaining in the Void, life or death. Second, I can give him the one thing he desires most: someone who he believes cares for him completely." he said with a tight smile.


	2. Rescue

**Author's Note: **Hey everyone. Since this is my first fanfic, I've decided to challenge myself. I plan to update one chapter a day, everyday on weekdays and then on weekends, I will post two. If I start to slack off or something, I just want you to know that I will always publish at least one chapter everyday until the story is finished. Alright then. Enjoy!

* * *

'Loki...' he heard whispered through the darkness. 'I can save you...' the voice continued. 'You can't save something that is already lost.' Loki thought. 'No...let me save you. I can give you the one thing you desire most...in return for your loyalty.'

"You wish for my loyalty? How can you know what I desire? You don't even know me." Loki said aloud. '...I know your desire because it's what I want too. I have watched you, Loki. I know you more than you think. Allow me bring you back. Let me save you. You'll die if you don't.' Thanos whispered into his mind again. Loki considered the words of the entity carefully. As the god of mischief, he knew certain proposals were too good to be true. Hed made a few himself. But then again...he didn't want to die either.

"Who are you?" Loki asked. 'My name is Sandin. I am a friend...if you'll let me be." he offered. Loki grimaced, feeling uneasy at pledging his loyalty to someone he couldn't even see.

"Alright, but what else do you want from me?" Loki questioned. The voice sighed. 'All I ask for is your loyalty.' the voice repeated. "Why? What cause must I pledge my oath to?" 'I only ask that you promise me that you will stay with me...no matter what.' the voice said slowly. Loki sighed internally, his mind reflexively formulating a plan to escape should things turn out not to his liking.

"Fine then. Get me out of this wretched place." Loki urged. Thanos disliked the way Loki spoke of Ginnungagap. It was actually one of his favorite places, to deal with enemies and sometimes their disposal, but he ignored the statement. As much as he liked to do things on his own, he needed him and didn't want to blow his cover so he said nothing.

* * *

Loki opened his eyes and hissed at the light shining on his face. He felt different. Off somehow. He groaned as he stretched, his muscles twinging painfully in their cramped and unused state. 'I shouldn't even be surprised. I hadn't really been able to actually move in the Void' he thought. As he curled up under the warm furs, he realized why something felt...off.

He was in a bed, not floating around in the Void. He sat up quickly and looked around. His eyes stopped on the figure kneeling beside his bed. Their eyes met, green looking into orange, staring for a long while, both unmoving. Finally Loki spoke.

"Are you Sandin?" he asked.


	3. Awoken

**Author Note: **So chapter two is here (or three depending if you count prologues). First of two chapters being posted today. Sorry, don't get up before 9:00am. Sorry, I'm a teen. Blame the hormones. The other promised chapter will be posted later, maybe past 3:00. Be sure to review. Also if you want, you can message me ideas or just put them in your reviews. Always open to new ideas. Spread the word people. Also don't own, don't profit, well at least not with money. K now enjoy!

* * *

To Loki's horror, the figure kneeling at his bedside giggled at his question. He brushed a thin strand of silver hair from his face and leaned forward, grinning like a maniac. "No. My name is Islis, a humble servant of Master Sandin."

"Well Islis, I must ask why you are kneeling by my bedside. It...unnerves me to think you just sat there watching me sleep." Islis nodded and leaned back a bit. "It was the will of Master Sandin to keep watch, should you wake and need anything. He asks if you are hungry. He is more than happy to provide sustenance should you want it. You can have anything you desire." he said, cocking his head to the side, his smile growing wider.

"I think my stomach will only be able to handle a small amount of food right now. Then perhaps I may explore this...place." Loki said. "To become familiar with my surroundings, since I assume that this is to be my long term place of residence for the time being, where ever it is. And I am quite eager to meet the man that pulled me from the Void. It would seem that I owe him my life...in a way." Loki clarified, seeing the confused, blank expression on the other man's face. Islis nodded slowly and rose to his feet.

"My master will tell you all you need to know when you meet. Would you prefer to eat in here? Master Sandin actually recommended that you do." he said. Loki narrowed his eyes. "Why? Is he avoiding me? Does he not want to see what he...saved?" he asked suspiciously. "No of course not. It's just that...well, you may feel a bit...odd since you were in the Void for so long. Your body must adjust to the outside again." he explained. "I feel fine." Loki said, throwing back his covers and swinging his legs over the side of the bed. Islis paled at this, though it seemed impossible with his paper white skin.

"Maybe you should slow down a bit..." Islis began. Loki ignored him and pushed himself to his feet. He immediately fell back onto the bed as a wave of dizziness washed over him and his legs gave out from under him. He groaned, placing his head in his hands and willing his world to right itself once again. Islis shifted nervously beside him.

"The master told me to warn you..." he said quietly. Loki looked up at him through his fingers and growled. Islis retreated to the doorway. "If you still want to, I can have Master Sandin dine with you." he suggested. Loki sighed and nodded. "I feel better now, so go ahead." he urged.

"There are clothes in the wardrobe if you wish to...change." he nodded and disappeared through the doorway. Loki looked down at himself and realized for the first time that he was actually naked. He grimaced, wondering who was responsible for that. 'Most likely Icicle-whatever his name is.' he thought with a shudder.


	4. The Master

**Author's Note: **So I've been looking at my chapters in my DocsManager, and it seems that my chapters have a life span of about 90 days, probably 88 for my first chapter. Are they actually going to delete my story chapter by chapter? I don't know why that's there but...if you have an answer I'd be greateful.

Anyway, so as promised, here's the second chapter being posted for today. And now enjoy the chapter. Don't own, don't profit with money, just from your reviews and follows.

* * *

Loki eyed the clothes in the wardrobe. Apparently Sandin haven't t been lying when he'd said he knew him. Everything in the closet was made of black leather, green satin and gold. And everything appeared to be in his size.

He pulled on a pair of pants and studied himself in the mirror. 'Not bad.' he thought to himself. He pulled a black shirt on over his head and grinned, running his hands over his sleeves.

"Master Sandin says that if you are ready, then I can take you to the dining hall." Islis said from the doorway. Loki groaned internal. Islis was too quiet for his taste. It made him uncomfortable, thinking of the likeliness that Islis was an ex-assassin, or something along those lines.

Loki followed Islis through long corridors, to the dining hall. Loki was astonished at the size of it. Its walls were decoreated with all sorts of jewels. The floor was inscribed with a language that Loki couldn't even read, which astonished him because he'd studied the most ancient spell books and incantuses. He crouched down and ran his fingers over the words, marveling at how different they felt than regular words inscribed into a marble floor. Even the texture of the floor was different.

"Do you like it?" a voice asked behind him. Loki jumped up and turned around quickly to face the voice. Leaning against the doorway, was a tall man with long red hair that hung well past his his shoulders. Loki nodded. "It's unlike anything I've seen before." he admitted. The man smiled at him. "I knew you'd like it. There are books in the library on this if you want to look at them later." he said, waving his hand in the direction of the floor. Loki nodded again, not sure what to say.

"I take it you're Sandin?" he asked. The man nodded. "Islis, you are no longer needed." Islis nodded and backed out of the room. Thanos clapped his hands and servants immediately seemed to pour out of the walls, carrying covered dishes and placing them on the long table in the hall.

"Please, sit and eat." Thanos urged. A servant pulled out a chair, and waited for Loki to sit. Loki seated himself at the table, as the dishes were uncovered. There was boar and oxen, which he was familiar with, but there were others with creatures he'd never even seen before, along with foreign drinks. He discreetly and politely avoided them, still not sure if he could completely trust Sandin.

Even if he did save him from the Void...he still didn't _know_ him, or his plans as far as him being lonely. He'd noticed that there seemed to be nothing but servants around.

"So..." Loki began, "Where am I exactly?" Thanos looked at him over the rim of his drink, purple eyes glowing faintly.

"You don't know where we are? I thought it'd be obvious." Thanos said with a wicked looking smile.

* * *

**Author's Note:** So, where do you think Loki is? Somewhere on Asgard, perhaps? Or maybe Midgard? Or Niflheim? I already have an idea, but am open to votes as always. Vote for your favorite of the Nine Realms.


	5. The Deal

Loki glared at the man across the table. "Well it isn't obvious so I'd be happier if you just told me." Loki snapped. Thanos sighed and nodded. "We are on Asgard, in my castle." he answered. "Asgard? Why here?" Loki demanded. He didn't know why he was upset, but he was. Thanos shrugged.

"I thought you would like to be near the home of your family, should you wish to see them again. I figured you would like it. I apologize if I was wrong. We can go somewhere else if you'd like." he suggested. "You have another castle? Where?" Loki asked. Thanos smiled.

"I meant that I could portal my castle somewhere else." he said. Loki's eyes widened at this. "That would require quite a bit of magic on your part. Are you sure you're actually capable of doing it?" Loki asked. Thanos grinned. "Of course. Like you, I am a very accomplished in my studies. Except for the fact that I am a warlock, and you a frost giant, we are quite alot alike."

Loki scoffed at this. "I can assure you, we are nothing alike." Thanks chuckled. "Oh? Well I beg to differ..." Thanos said quietly. "You can beg all you want. The only thing we have in common is magic. The only thing." Loki said, taking a moment to wash down a piece of boar he'd just swallowed with some wine.

After a moment of studying the god, Thanos spoke again. "Loki...do you know why I chose to pull you from the Void?" Loki looked at him for a long moment before he answered. "I assume you need my help. Or maybe...you just want to take my magic for your own personal gain. I don't know what you want or why you willingly rescued me. Perhaps you want to be the one to finish me off for good. Many have been trying for centuries." he said, his green eyes glittering darkly. Thanos sighed.

"I want you to help me with something." he said. Loki rolled his eyes grinning. "What do you need my help with? And more importantly, how will this effect me?" Thanos smiled, leaning back in his chair.

"What I want is an object with great power. It is called a...Tessaract. I'm sure you've heard of it." Loki nodded. "Yes. I've heard of it. So...you want me to find this object and bring it to you?" he asked. "Basically, yes. The object I seek is on Midgard." "Really? I would have never thought the mortals capable of even keeping an object like that among themselves. It is a miracle they aren't fighting over the damn thing." he muttered. "You have heard of it?" he asked. The god nodded. "Everyone on Asgard has. It was rumored to be destroyed but...apparently it was not."

"So if I bring you this object, what's in it for me?" Loki asked. "I will allow you to take some of the power of the Tessaract. There's more than enough for you and I to share." he frowned when Loki shook his head. "The Tessaract is a dangerous artifact to mess with. You're insane to even want it in the first place. I want nothing to do with it." he said. Thanos furrowed his brow.

"Then what do you want?" he asked worriedly. Loki smiled. "I want what Odin has. What Thor will inherit from him when he passes on. But I want to go further than that. I want to be the ruler of the Nine Realms."


	6. Alone

**Author's Note:** Second chapter being posted for here's a little something showing how Loki's absence is affecting others that knew him. Don't own, no money profits, just your reviews and follows. Enjoy!

* * *

Thor sighed, looking into the amber liquid of his ale. He had never thought he could be this sad, but he was. Loki was gone, swallowed up by the Void. He looked around the table, at the people sitting with him. Everyone was quiet, except for Hogun, who was eating a platter of fruit quite noisily. Thor however, hadn't touched a bit of the food on his plate.

He hadn't really thought of what his life would be like without Loki before. Without his pranks, or his cleverness. Even the way Loki rejected Thor as his brother would have made him happy at that moment. At least he would have been there to say it.

Thor, thinking of all this, rose from his chair and walked out of the hall, not really caring if he drew attention to himself. He went to the Bifrost and stood near the broken edges, beside Heimdal.

"Again, I am sorry for your loss my prince." said the gatekeeper. Thor nodded. "Thank you, but..." he said, not quite knowing why he actually came out here in the first place.

"But?" Heimdal prodded. Thor sighed. "It doesn't feel right...to say it I mean." the thunder god said. "It will pass in time." Heimdal assured him. Thor shook his head. "It is not like that. It just does not feel like he is..."

But Thor couldn't really say Loki was dead. It just didn't _feel _right. That's what he really meant inside.

He didn't understand why he couldn't explain himself. He'd always been able to, even in the toughest of times. Not manipulative like Loki, but able to explain his feelings with ease.

Thor looked up at Heimdal, then looked away again, shaking his head. Heimdal noticed, as he did with everything else.

"If I were to look for him, would it put you at ease?" he asked. Thor nodded. So, Heimdal looked through the Nine Realms, feeling nothing at first. Then, he got something... from somewhere. When he looked again, there was nothing. He supposed it had something to do with him also wanting Loki to be alive.

As much as he hated to admit it, he'd grown rather fond of Loki. His pranks had been...a welcoming comfort from standing on the Bifrost, century after century, watching the antics of others unfolding under his watchful eyes.

When he first started guarding the Bifrost, he had been lonely and wanted to join the others in their games, but he had remained committed to his duty. Eventually he had lost that feeling, his attention becoming completely focused on the rainbow bridge. Everyone left him alone, coming to him when they wanted to travel to another realm, or sometimes see what was happening somewhere else.

Then Loki had come along and actually included him in his games, even though it was pranking. He had started to feel the way he'd felt all those years ago. Happy he guessed.

Heimdal turned back to Thor. "I didn't see anything. I'm sorry." he said. Their just nodded. "It is alright friend. I knew there wouldn't be anything. He's...gone." he said sadly.

Thor returned to his room, closing and latching the door firmly behind him. He went to into his bedside table and picked up the book resting on it. Hidden inside was a piece of smooth, round glass.

Loki had also had one, but it was a mystery to Thor where Loki had hidden his. Thor and Loki had often used it to spy on others when they had been children. They had even used them to communicate from distances. It had been the first and the last gift Loki had given him. And also the only magic Loki had ever taught him before Thor had refused to learn any more when he decided to become a warrior. No one besides he, Frigga, and of course Heimdal knew of it.

Then he did something he hadn't done ever since he had been a teen, when he had cursed Loki for being argr because of his magic. After that Loki had never answered his scrying glass again.

He held the scrying glass tightly in his fist, pulling his arm to his chest. Then he curled into a ball and cried.

* * *

Standing near the fire in the main hall, Loki looked down at the piece of round glass he was turning over in his hands. He looked into the fire for a long moment, holding he glass over it. He didn't even care about the burning in his hands from closeness of the fire.

He grimaced, silently cursing himself as he slipped the glass back into his pocket.

* * *

**Author's Note: **So? How do you like it so far? Think I should show Loki more in this way?


	7. The Beginning

**Author's Note:** I know this may seem like it's going really slow, but I'm kind of a perfectionist when it comes to my writing and I don't like rushing it. But, if you want me to speed it up I will try. So, his chapter is shorter than my last one, probably exactly by half. Hope you're not upset. Been having arguments with my mother and it's thrown me off bit. Again don't own, don't proft with money, just from your lovely reviews and follows.

* * *

So, what's the plan?" Loki asked. Thanos grinned. "What do you know of Midgard?" he questioned. Loki shrugged. "Humans are beneath me, so they shouldn't be that difficult to conquer." he replied distantly. Thanos frowned at the displacement of his attention.

"Is Jotunheim not to your liking, Loki?" Thanos asked. Loki looked over at him and shrugged. "It is I suppose." he said vaguely. Thanos sighed inwardly. He was getting no where with the trickster. He was going to have to try a different approach.

"I suggest you study up on humans Loki. They are much more than they seem." Thanos suggested. Loki scowled at him. "Oh really? Well what do you know of humans?" Loki demanded. Thanos tried not to smile. It was interesting how the smallest sign of superiority made Loki uneasy.

"Well, I know that their weapons are somewhat more advanced than ours, well at least most of them are." he said. Loki folded his arms over his chest and leaned against the wall, eyes narrowing to slits. "How is this possible?" he demanded. "The midgardians are a very smart race of people. They are also simple enough to figure out things that we tend to over think." Thanos said.

Loki nodded. "Perhaps I should study humans more." he said slowly. Thanos nodded. "I agree. Now, If you'll excuse me I have some preperations to make."

* * *

Nick Fury stood, looking over the shoulder of one of his researchers at the computer screen. Usually, everything was alright, but not today. A couple days ago, there had been a spike in energy out in the atmosphere in space.

He was one of the few people that actually knew there were other species besides their own. His job was to make sure that nothing happened that could damage the existance of the human race. As he studied the computer screen, there was another spike in activity.

"Pull up a live feed of one of our satelites and posisition it to receive data from where the disruptions are coming from. The man sitting at the computer nodded and did what was asked. As the fottage from the satelite was displayed on the large screen at the front of the room, everyone in the room turned to look at it.

Nick Fury ground his teeth together at what he was seeing now. There was a void on the screen, large and swirling. Pouring out of it were what looked like millions-no trillions maybe more, gathering outside of it. They were aliens. And Nick Fury had seen this too many times to be mistaken.

They were assembling to attack.

* * *

**Author's Note:** So this is my take on what happens before the Avengers are assembled and what leads up to it. Sorry if things don't seem like how they happened in the movie. Haven't seen it since it first came out and only seen it once. Going to try and watch it again soon.


	8. Release

Author's Note: So sorry to not have updated for two days. Got home from school late and watched part of the Avengers. Didn't see how late it had gotten andante to fix some stuff in this chapter. Just so you know this chapter replaces the previous chapter I wrote. Didn't like it in the spot it was in. Probably will put it as another chapter somewhere. Again don't own, don't profit with money just from your reviews and follows. Enjoy.

* * *

_**SMUT IN THIS CHAPTER! YOU ARE WARNED**_

**If you don't like smut then don't read. It's not required that you do so to kept up with the story.**

* * *

"Why do you delay?" a voice demanded, thundering all around him. Thanos sighed. He had been relaxing comfortably before this. 'Why can't he just be patient?' he asked himself silently.

"I am ready. My army is ready. You however are NOT! I demand to know the reason for this." the Other said again, sounding agitated. Thanos looked over his shoulder, into his scrying glass. The Other's eyes glowed darkly from with in it.

"The humans will fight against us. They always do in wars. I want that tessaract Thanos."

"I need more time. He's not one to follow blindly into a situation. More of the type to shove you in head first to save himself should anything go wrong." he said with a chuckle. The Other growled.

"I will not wait forever. I need him to lead my army. They grow restless. They want blood. If you continue like this, I just might give them yours." the Other threatened. Thanos grew very still for a moment.

"I can't make him do what you want with so little time. Why can't I just lead your army? It would be much quicker." Thanos hurriedly explained. "It is not your place to lead my army. I need a god, and you are not that." it said, fading from view.

Thanos sat down, trying to think of a way to make more progress with Loki.

* * *

Loki eyed Islis as he poured Loki his...well he wasn't sure what glass he was on, but he was on his second pitcher of wine. He knew he shouldn't drink so much wine, but he didn't really was now officially his own personal servant since Sandin had many others and Loki was familiar with Islis.

Loki continued to eye Islis as he handed him the glass. He wasn't sure where his mind was going, looking at the other man like he was but his mind was too polluted to think clearly.

"Islis...come here." he ordered, his voice unsteady. Islis obeyed and came to stand in front of Loki. "What is it that you desire my lord?" he asked. Loki smiled, lifting his hand to run a finger down Islis' pale cheek.

"What do you like Islis?" he asked. Islis frowned at this, not sure what to say. "My lord, I don't understand..." he said. Loki laughed at this, not sure why he found this amusing. He stood, pressing himself against Islis.

"Have you ever had sex Islis?" He asked. His eyes widened at Loki's question. "My lord... why would you want to know?" He asked quietly. "I'm just curious. Are you?" Loki asked again. Islis shook his head. "I have never...done that before." he admitted. "Well, we should do something about that." Loki said, offering his glass to Islis.

"Go on. Drink it. It will help you relax some." he said. Islis nodded, and swallowed the remainder of the sweet liquid. Loki poured him two more glasses and waited until Islis had drank both before grabbing him and kissing him roughly.

He pushed Islis on the bed, standing to remove his shirt. Islis stared as Loki removed his pants, revealing his half hard cock. He turned his head, suddenly very at what was happening. "Remove your clothes." Loki urged nodded, removing his own clothes.

Lori's frowned as he saw the deep scars that ran across Islis' torso. He wrapped his arms around Islis, pulling him flat against his body and kissing him.

Loki forced his tongue into Islis' mouth when Islis didn't resist. Soon, Loki's erection began to annoy him and he hissed as Islis' thigh brushed against it. "On your knees." Loki said. Islis nodded and sank down in front of Loki. He opened his mouth when Loki guided his cock to it, figuring out this was what Loki wanted.

Loki bit back a groan as the hot, wet cavity enveloped him sucking slowly. He almost cried out as one of Islis' sharp fangs slid over the sensitive skin on the head of his penis. Almost. After a few minutes of this, he could feel himself about to come. "On the bed." he ordered Islis.

Islis crawled onto the bed waiting for Loki to tell him what to do next. "Get on all fours." Loki breathed heavily. It was one of the disadvantages of having an inexperienced lover, but he enjoyed being obeyed so he dealt with it.

Loki positioned himself behind Islis and thrust his hips forward. Islis cried out in pain as Loki entered him roughly. Loki bit back another groan of pleasure at the tightness surrounding his length. Islis bit his tongue from the pain he he cried out as Loki hit his prostate.

He moaned as Loki quickened his pace, sending waves of pleasure racing through his body. Islis keened as his climax neared, and Loki began to deepen his thrusts, sending Islis over the edge and making Islis come on the sheets. Not long after, Loki came with a growl, nails digging into Islis' flesh.

Loki collapsed beside Islis on the bed and closed his eyes. "You may leave now." Loki said. Islis winced as he got out of the bed, pulling on his clothes. Loki watched him, his lip twitching as he looked at the marks on Islis' back.

Then, after the door had closed, Loki lay back down, but he didn't sleep.


	9. Demands

The Other laughed when Thanks told him what Loki wanted. "The Nine Realms? Is he insane?" he asked. "Everyone seems to think so." Thanos replied. "Well he cannot have all of them. Maybe Midgard and even Jotunheim. I have no use for a world with such a weak species and a barren wasteland of ice." the Other offered.

"He will not be happy with this." Thanos warned. "I don't really care, Thanos. Convince him."

Thanos paced around the dining hall as he waited. He turned as he heard footsteps approach him. He turned, expecting Loki but it was just Islis. "Islis, go and awake Loki. I need to speak with him." he ordered. Islis hesitated before taking a step forward.

"He gave me explicit instructions not to disturb him in the morning." he said. Thanos groaned. "I don't care what he said. Go get him." Islis nodded, bowing, and left the room.

Loki awoke with a pounding headache. 'Shouldn't have drank so much wine.' he thought, scoldingly. "Master Sandin requires your presence immediately." he heard Islis say. "I remember telling you not to disturb me in the morning." he said into the pillow. Islis stepped away from the bed.

"Master Sandin requires your presence immediately." he repeated. Loki sat up and glared at him. "I heard you the first time." he growled. "Tell him I am tired." he growled. Islis swallowed. "The master will not be happy." he said quietly. Loki pushed himself up onto his elbows and glared at him. "Fine. Tell him I shall be down in a moment."

Loki got out of the bed and staggered to the bathroom to wash himself. After he pulled on some clean clothes and ran a hand through his hair, he made his way down to the dining hall, where Thanos was was quietly sitting at the table. Loki sat down slowly, feeling the tension in the air and also not wanting to upset his stomach and head any more than they already were..

"Loki, I cannot give you the Nine Realms. Not all of them." he said. Loki ran a hand through his hair, becoming frustrated. "Why not?" he demanded, wincing as the volume of his voice mad ehis head spin. "Loki, I have a...friend that wants a part of the Nine Realms also. He is much more powerful than you and I wouldn't dare to cross him." Thanos said.

"I want to meet him." Loki said defiantly. Thanos' eyes widened. "No...no Loki you don't. He is unlike anyone...well anyone has ever met." he cautioned. "Is he a god?" Loki asked. Thanos shook his head. "Then he has no right to challenge me. I want to meet him Sandin. How dare he think himself above me. I am a god!" he declared rising from his seat. He gripped the table as hs vision tilted and he took a deep breath.

"Loki this isn't a good idea, believe me. He doesn't like demands to be made of him." Thanos said. "I want to meet him before the week is out or you can forget about me helping you get the tessaract." he said storming out of the room. Thanos looked at Islis, who turned away from his stare.

"We're going to have to tell him about this aren't we?" he asked. Thanos nodded. "It's not going to be pretty...or very clean when the Other gets a hold of Loki."


	10. Confessions

"He wants to meet you." Thanos said. There was a long stretch of silence after that. "No." said the Other. "He says he will not retrieve the Tessaract for us if he cannot meet you." said Thanos. There was a deep rumbling in the air.

"Alright...if he wants to meet with me, then he may. But I will not be responsible for anything that happens." he warned. "In fact, I will make sure that this never happens again once we meet."

It was three days after Loki's ultimatum that he got his answer.

"He has agreed to see you." Thanos said. Loki nodded in satisfaction. "Alright. When?" he asked. "Tomorrow." he answered. Loki grinned in triumph. "I knew you'd see it my way. Of course, I have reason to be cautious." he said. Thanos nodded. "Of course." was all he said.

Loki eyed him for a moment, then shrugged to himself. "I have hopes that you won't disturb me, but then I guess that's too much to ask for isn't it?" Loki said mockingly. "Come Islis. I have work for you to do." he said said. Islis looked over at Thanos, then followed Loki, leaving Thanos to wonder what work they could possibly have together.

* * *

Islis bit his tongue as Loki thrust into him for the last time before coming inside him. Islis had already climaxed a few minutes earlier, and he doubted that Loki would have continued If he hadn't. After Loki pulled out of him, he proceeded to gather his clothes, as had become the custom during these events.

As he made his way out of the door, he turned when he heard Loki speak. "Have someone bring me a glass of wine and something light to eat." he said. Islis nodded and closed the door. As he made his way to the kitchens, he was surprised to see Thanos. He never came into the kitchens as far as he knew. He bowed as he passed him, and spoke to another servant of Loki's request. All the while he could feel Thanos' eyes on the back of his neck.

"Are you sleeping with him?" Thanos asked. Islis went rigid for a moment, but stayed silent. "I said are you fucking him?" Thanos asked more harshly. Islis turned to face him, head bowed and body trembling. "Yes." he answered, his voice barely above a whisper.

He raised his eyes slightly, and cringed under the complexion of Thanos' skin. They had taken on an almost the reddish purple color. Never a good sign. Islis backed away from him. He had seen Thanos angry before, but this was different. He didn't know what he'd done to make him like this. Everything stilled in the room, as the tension rose.

"I-I'm...he ordered me to...you said to obey his every command. I'm sorry. I didn't...mean to...I didn't know." he stammered. He let out a partial scream, partial gasp as Thanos grabbed him by his neck and hoisted him into the air. "You will stop this right now! If he wants a bed slave, then he can have a bed slave. You are not a bed slave!" he said, dropping him. Islis held his neck as winced as Thanos stepped over him.

"If I hear that this has continued, then I will make you into a bed slave. And then I'll sell you to the Jotuns." he sad. "But master Thanos, the Jotuns do not have bed slaves." said one of the other servants timidly. Thanos looked at him. "Every race has a form of a bed slave. They just don't survive long enough for us to see them." he said with a cruel smile.


	11. Diamond Eyes

Loki made his way down to the dining hall as he did every morning. As he entered the room, he noticed something was off. Very off. Out of reflex- a reflex he didn't even know he had- he changed into his Jotun form, ice blade ready. He looked around the room, his eyes falling on a surprised Thanos. "Sandin...something feels off here. Is this an assassination attempt?" Loki asked suspiciously. Thanos shook his head, his eyes wandering to the left of Loki.

Loki turned to look at the figure behind him. Standing here was a hooded being that was slightly shorter than him. "Loki, this is the Other. He is our ally." Thanos said. Loki stared at the Other for a long moment before he spoke. "So, you're the reason why I can't have all of the Nine Realms." he said, walking toward him. "Loki...what are you doing?" Thanos asked.

Loki ignored him, moving closer to study the Other. "Tell me something, Other. Why do you want the realms?" he asked. The Other continued to stare at him, and laughed. Loki glared at him. "What amuses you so Other?" he demanded. "You think you can scare me Jotun?" the Other asked, taking a step forward. Loki looked at him through red slitted eyes as he came closer. He soon had to back away as the Other came too close for his comfort.

"What are you doing?" Thanos asked the Other. His question went unanswered. Then his eyes widened as Loki was backed into the table. Loki growled and pushed the Other away from him. Under his hood, the Other smiled at the reaction. As Loki's skin made contact with him, the god froze, and his eyes rolled back into his head. Then he collapsed at the Other's feet.

"What did you do to him?" Thanos demanded. "I told you Thanos that when I meet him, I would make sure he would never defy me again." he reminded him.

* * *

When Loki awoke, his body seemed as though it was on fire. He couldn't move without excruciating pain shooting through him. He struggled to look around him, trying to only move his eyes. As he looked around, he saw that he wasn't in the room that Thanos had given him. It was well lit, and his eyes were sensitive in the light. His vision was disoriented and it was hard to see because of it. He would have missed the figure standing in the corner if it hadn't moved.

"Loki..." Thanos said quietly, not really expecting an answer. "S-Sandin...what the hell happened?" he asked. "The Other." he said. "What of him? Where am I?" Loki asked. "Loki...I can't. Please just do what he says. It would be a lot easier and a lot less painful if you did." Thanos said. "What do you mean? Get me out of here, Sandin." Loki said. Thanos shook his head, and backed away. "I'm sorry Loki, I cannot lose the Other as an ally." he said, disappearing from Loki's vision.

Then, someone else stepped into Loki's line of sight. "I'm going to show you something Loki. I want you to see what I have seen. There is much more than just the Nine Realms, Loki." The Other grinned at him as he reached toward him.

Loki moved away, suddenly remembering what happened when he had touched him to push him away from him. Thanos laid his hand on Loki's forehead. He jerked violently as images flooded his mind.

He saw the Nine Realms of Yggdrasil. Asgard, the home of the Aesir Gods, Alfheim, the home of the elves, Vanaheim, the home of the Vanir Gods. Midgard, the home of the mortals, Jotunheim, the home of the frost giants, Svartalheim, the home of the dark-elves, Nidavellir, the home of the dwarves, Muspelheim the world of fire and Helheim the world of the dead.

And then he saw past that. Other worlds, creatures that he had never seen before. Some were beautiful to look at, others horrible and vicious. He saw other races, some tall and some short and some deadly.

"No...stop.." Loki gasped. It was too much. There were so many unknown worlds the Other was showing him. It was just too much. He felt as though he was going to be consumed by the knowledge of them all. "STOP!" Loki cried.

The Other grunted with disapproval, but withdrew his hand. Then Loki could feel himself giving in to his exhaustion. He closed his eyes, and sighed in relief as everything went cold in his body.


	12. Confrontations

Loki opened his eyes and hissed at the bright light streaming in through the window. He rolled over, groaning as his sore body screamed out in pain. Everything was cold around him, which he enjoyed since he had a very low resistance to heat since he was a Jotun. He sat up and pushed the covers away.

He stared down at his body in horror. He was in his Jotun form. He closed his eyes as a wave of nausea washed over him. As it faded, he concentrated on forcing his body back into his normal looking form. As the changes began to appear, he felt himself grow very tired. He laid back on the pillows and slept again.

* * *

The Other stared at Thanos from across the table. "Do you remember our mission Thanos?" he asked. Thanos looked at him and nodded. "Then why are you so hesitant to do what it takes to further it?" the Other demanded. Thanos said nothing and looked away from him.

"Is it because of him?" he demanded. "It is isn't it?" the Other said. Thanos stood and faced away from him. "I do not know what you are talking about." he said. "Oh? Then I guess you won't be devastated if I just go up and slit his throat? Or you could do it." the Other taunted. "You wouldn't dare." Thanos said. "Why wouldn't I Thanos?" he asked. "Because you still need him. You want the Tessaract. We need the Tessaract. And he's the only one willing to get it for you." Thanos said.

The Other smiled. "True. But you still...love him." he said. Thanos glared at him. "I do not love anyone." he snarled. The Other chuckled. "You need not worry. I won't touch him...as long as you do what needs to be done in the meantime."


	13. Impatient

The Other tapped his claws impatiently as he waited for Thanos. He hated waiting for others, especially if they were taking a ridiculously long time.

"Where have you been?" the Other demanded when Thanos finally appeared.

"There was a problem I had to handle with a Jotun. He found the castle, and was threatening to tell his king of our trespassing." he explained. "You disposed of him correctly I hope?" the Other asked. Thanos nodded. "Of course."

"Now I am curious as to why you summoned me." Thanos said. "I am an impatient man Thanos as I have already said before. Get Loki ready to lead my army." he said. Thanos nodded. "Alright." he said,

"Why are you still here Thanos?" the Other asked. "What do you mean?" Thanos asked. "I thought I told you to prepare Loki." he said boredly. Thanos' eyes widened. "You don't mean to- he hasn't even completely recovered from you yet." he said in disbelief. The Other's eyes darkened.

"Are you refusing to follow my orders?" he asked all to calmly. "Of course not. I-I jut thought that Loki should rest a bit more. I mean you did torture him for almost three weeks without any time for him to rest in between." he said. The Other just stared at him.

"I do not care Thanos. I believe I have given you sufficient time. You should be grateful I haven't decided to give you to my Chitauri."

* * *

"Loki wake up..." said a voice. Loki opened his eyes to see Thanos standing over him. "Sandin? Where am I?" Loki asked. "In your room...I convinced the Other that his...methods would no longer be needed. I am hoping I was right." he said. "How long have I been...sleeping?" Loki asked. "Almost two weeks now." he said. "I have been sleeping for two weeks straight!" Loki exclaimed. Thanos nodded.

Loki grunted as he pushed himself into a sitting position, and leaned against the headboard. "What did that bastard do to me Sandin?" Loki demanded. Thanos shook his head. "I am not sure. But he wants you to get up. And I suggest you do...or he won't be happy."


	14. Realizations

Loki stared at his reflection in the mirror shocked at what he saw. His eyes were surrounded with dark purplish black rings. His skin was paler than it normally was, pulled tight across his face. His hair usually shiny and lustrous, now dull and tangled. 'What have I gotten myself into?' he asked himself.

Thanos waited patiently outside as Loki dressed. When the god finally emerged, they went down to where the Other was waiting.

"Would you like to see what you will lead, Loki?" the Other asked. "I might as well." he muttered. The Other's eyes narrowed, traces of anger flashing through them, but he decided to ignore the god's words for the moment. He walked out onto the balcony, and smiled.

"Do you see them Loki?" he asked. Loki came to stand beside him, looking into the night's darkness. "I am afraid I do not see a thing." Loki said. "That is because you do not know what you are looking for. You are looking at them the wrong way." he said, grabbing Loki and pulling him closer. "Now do you see them?" the Other asked, pride swelling in his voice.

Loki did see now. He saw a race of warrior creatures too numerous to count, too numerous to even distinguish each individual clearly. It both excited and terrified him. Beside him, the Other chuckled. "That is..." Loki choked, as he tried to speak. "That is your army Loki. The army you will lead against Midgard. My- no, our Chitauri."

* * *

"I want you to make sure he stays focused Thanos." the Other said. Thanos looked over at him. "What do you mean? He seems focused a little too much if you ask me. Didn't you see him? He looks...sick." Thanos said. The Other chuckled. "Aren't we all a little sick, Thanos?" he asked. "Some more than others." he replied, drinking the rest of his wine.

"I mean it Thanos. I need him on task." the Other repeated. "And just how am I supposed to do that?" Thanos asked. "I don't know. You're the one that likes him so much. I just tolerate him."

* * *

Back in his room, Loki began to pace back and forth. 'How are they even possible?' he thought. 'Their numbers are endless. No race has that many...people. How could they...' his train of thought trailed off as he felt a nagging at the back of his brain. 'If the Chitauri attack Midgard...they will die.' he thought again. "Every war has casualties." he told himself. 'What do I care if a few lowly mortals die?' he asked himself.

"Loki...what are you doing?" Thanos asked. Loki looked him over slowly. "Nothing Sandin. I was just thinking about...the army. It is the largest I have ever seen." he admitted. Thanos nodded. "They are endless the Chitauri. The mortals cannot possibly withstand their attack." he said with a smile, slowly moving toward the god.

"Are you alright?" Thanos asked. Loki snorted, but it sounded weak in Thanos' ears. "Of course. Why wouldn't I be?" he snarled. Thanos struggled not to smile.

Loki ignored him, and descended back into his previous thoughts. Loki didn't notice how close Thanos was to him. "Loki...you intrigue me in no way anyone else has." Thanos said.

No Loki didn't notice a thing that Thanos was doing. Not until he was pulled from his thoughts as he felt Thanos' lips on his.


	15. Distractions

Loki didn't resist the kiss. He figured he needed the distraction with the amount of stress he was going through. So, he pulled Thanos close, deepening the kiss. After a moment, Loki pulled back and stared into the other man's eyes. "What is this?" he asked. "I'm not sure." Thanos said, moving forward again. Their lips crashed together again, both their tongues battling for dominance, entrance to each other's.

Loki groaned in annoyance as Thanos broke the kiss off again. "If we're to do this, you know that one of us will have to be the...well bottom." he said. Loki grinned, nodding. "I know that. I'm no maiden. Haven't you heard of my many past...endeavors?" Loki growled, his emerald eyes glowing mischievously.

Loki grunted as Thanos pushed him roughly into the wall. Thanos gasped in surprise as Loki vanished their clothes. Then he disappeared in a flash of green light. "What are you waiting for?" Loki asked, from the bed. Thanos smiled and approached him slowly. Loki leaned back on his elbows savoring the moment. It had been almost 300 years since he'd had sex with another man and had bottomed. Before Islis it had been even longer. 'Much too long.' he thought.

Loki shifted so that he was on the pillows as Thanos climbed on top of him, capturing his lips once again. Loki rolled them over so that Thanos was on his back, straddling his legs. He moved so that he was between Thanos' thighs and took his half-erect member into his mouth. Thanos groaned as Loki licked the tip, before throating him fully making him stiffen to his full length.

Thanos grabbed a fistful of Loki's hair, thrusting more of his cock further down the god's throat. "Loki...wait...s-stop!" he panted, feeling his climax nearing. Loki, grinning around him looked directly into his eyes. Then Thanos hissed in pain as he felt Loki bite him, not hard enough to draw blood just enough to cause him pain.

He smiled as he removed his mouth, climbing up to straddle Thanos' lap. He said, positioning himself over Thanos' cock. He slowly pressed down, reveling in the pleasure of being entered. Once Thanos was all the way in, he rolled them back over so that he was lying on his back. "Fuck me Sandin." Loki whispered seductively into Thanos' ear.

A gasp escaped Loki's lips as Thanos thrust his hips forward, his size a little uncomfortable for Loki who was a bit out of practice. The second thrust coaxed an attempt to cover a moan from Loki. "Harder you bastard..." Loki hissed. Thanos grunted and rose to his knees, pulling Loki's legs over his shoulders. Thanos set a fast pace, thrusting into Loki as hard as he could making Loki stifle a scream. "That's it...faster." Loki urged, as Thanos hit his prostate over and over again.

Thanos came inside Loki at the same time Loki did. He then rolled onto his side, pulling Loki on top of him. "What are you doing Sandin?" Loki demanded. "Come on Loki. After that you don't want to just lie here with me for a bit?" Thanos asked. Loki pushed away from him roughly.

"No I do not Sandin. I just needed something to clear my head and you seemed to be the best solution. Now leave or I swear to Helheim I will freeze your cock off!" Loki threatened. Thanos nodded. "Fine. I'll go. See you in the morning Loki." he said, closing the door behind him.


	16. Descent

When Loki awoke the next morning, he was sore. He groaned as he sat up, his ass and back in pain. For a moment he wondered why in Valhalla he was naked. Then he remembered his night with Sandin. He fell back onto the pillows wincing at the pain, but laughing.

* * *

"When I said 'keep him focused' I didn't mean for you to fuck him." the Other said. Thanos smiled a bit. "Does it anger you that I achieved sexual release last night when you have not in...well the last time you raped and pillaged when you conquered a world before you were defeated?" he asked. The Other began to tremble with rage.

"I have half a mind to throw you into the Void right now." he snarled. Thanos nodded, holding his hands up in mock terror. "Alright. I'll stop." he said, sitting down at the table. A servant placed a plate in front of him and he dug in. "You know, if you wanted of course...you could have any of my bed slaves for as long as you wanted." he offered. The Other raised his eyes and stared at Thanos. 'If looks could kill...' he thought.

Just then, Loki strolled leisurely into the room. Sensing the mood, he abruptly turned to leave the room. "Jotun! Get in here!" The Other yelled in warning. Loki's left eye twitched at being called not by his name, but by his race. He kept his mouth shut however, not wanting the Other to determine that he needed to be disciplined...again.

"Jotun, I am...not patient. I have been waiting...so long I cannot even remember how long I've been waiting anymore. So I would like to know if you will be ready to attack in a few days." the Other aid. Loki nodded. "I am ready." he said quietly. The Other nodded in satisfaction. "Good." he said, rising from his seat.

Loki stared at the plate before him. His stomach began churn at the sight of it so he pushed it away. "Are you alright Loki?" Thanos asked. Loki looked up into his face, and glared at him. "You can use the few days you have to rest a little." he suggested, taking note of Loki's unhealthy pallor and the rings around his eyes. He also took in the appearence of dark blue veins on his neck.

"I'm fine." he snapped, pushing himself from the table and storming from the room.

In reality, Loki felt horrible. He was constantly dizzy, and he felt weak and he hated it. But he said nothing because of the Other. He had tortured him for three weeks and this was the result, still lingering after almost over a month after the fact. He knew he should eat something, but he also knew that he wouldn't be able to keep anything down.

He went back to bed, not bothering to remove his clothes because it would require too much energy. And then he descended into a world of sweet, quiet darkness.


	17. Chaotic Thoughts

"The Tesseract has awakened. It is on a little world. A human world. They would wield its power," Thanos said, handing Loki a staff. "This is the Chitauri Scepter." he said. Loki stared at it for a moment, studying it. It had a long golden handle, fitted with a blue gem encircled with silver blades.

Thanos continued. "But the Other knows its workings as they never will. He is ready. I am ready. You will lead. And our force, our Chitauri, will follow. The world will be his. The universe yours." The Other stepped up behind Loki. "And the humans, what can they do but burn?" he said.

* * *

"How bad is it?" Nick Fury asked. "That's the problem sir. We don't actually know." said Agent Coulson walking beside him. "Dr. Selvig read an energy surge in the Tessaract four hours ago." he said. "NASA didn't authorize a test phase." Nick said. "But Dr Selvig wasn't testing it. He wasn't even in the room." Agent Coulson said, as they entered the room where the Tessaract was being kept for the moment.

The glowing blue cube on the platform was flashing erratically, giving off unstable looking bursts of light. "It just turned itself on?" Agent Maria Hill asked from beside Agent Coulson. He nodded. "That's what I was told." Beside him, Agent Hill spoke up. "What are the energy level readings?" Fury asked. "They're climbing fast." Agent Coulson answered.

"When Dr. Selvig couldn't shut it down, we advised everyone else to evacuate." he continued. "How long will it take?" "The campus should be clear in about a half hour." Agent Coulson said. "Do better than that." Fury ordered.

"Sir, maybe we shouldn't evacuate." she said. "Agent Hill, I need you to make sure that Phase 2 prototypes are shipped out." Fury ordered. "Sir, do you really think that those are actually a priority right now?" she asked. "Until such time as the world ends, we will act as though it intends to keep on spinning right up until the very end." Fury said.

"Sir, even if we do, we don't really know how far of a distance we will have to be from the Tessaract for it to be safe, if we can't control it." Agent Hill said. "So we should tell them to go back to sleep?" he asked. "Of course not sir. I will make sure the Phase 2 prototypes are shipped out." She turned to the two agents standing behind her. "With me." she said.

"Talk to me Doctor." Fury said to Dr. Selvig. "Is there anything we know for certain?" he asked. "The Tessaract is being bad." he said, half listening. "Is that supposed to be funny?" "No, it's not funny at all, sir. The Tessaract is not only active she's...misbehaving." he said. "How soon can we pull the plug?" Fury asked. "She's an energy source. If we turn her off, she turns it back on. If she reaches peak level..." he trailed off, imagining the possibilities.

"We've prepared for this doctor. Harnessing energy from space." Fury pointed out. Dr. Selvig shook his head. "We don't have the harness. And our calculations are far from complete. Now she's throwing off interference, radiation. Nothing harmful, just low levels of gamma radiation." he added. "That can be harmful. Where's Barton?" "The Hawk? Up in his nest as usual." Selvig mumbled.

"Agent Barton, report at once." Fury ordered into his earpiece. A few moments later, Agent Barton is standing at his side. "I gave you this detail so you could keep a close eye on things." Fury said. "I see better at a distance." he said with a shrug.

"Are you seeing anything that might set this thing off?" Fury asked him. Just then a NASA scientist called out to Dr. Selvig. "Doctor, it's spiking again." "No one's come or gone. It's clean. No contacts, no I.M.'s. If there was any tampering, sir, it wasn't at this end." Clint said. "At this end?" Fury asked. "Yeah, the cube is a doorway to the other end of space, right? The doors open from both sides."

At the computer, Dr. Sevig was typing commands into the keyboard. All of a sudden, the Tessaract began to flash and pulse brighter than before. It began to thunder and shake, powerful enough that Agent Coulson and Agent Hill felt the motion even though they were both at opposite ends of the building. The Tessaract began to glow brighter, forming a type of energy beam. It started to form a vortex, opening into a portal. Then, everything goes quiet again, except for the sound of heavy breathing that comes from the platform.

Loki smiles as the men raise their weapons at him. "Sir, please put down the spear." a man says to him. He looks at him for a moment, taking in the eye patch, his posture, his smile fading. 'He reminds me of the All Father.' Loki thought. 'I want that Tessaract Loki. Do not fail me, or what I did to you last time will be increased ten fold.' a voice echoes in his mind. Loki tightened tightened his grip on the scepter and raises it. 'Yes, you remind me of Odin...and I wish he were in your place at this moment.'

Clint tackles Fury as a blue ball of energy hurtles toward them. The agents in the room unholstered their guns and started to shoot at Loki. The bullets just bounce off of him, causing no damage. Loki jumps from the platform and swings the scepter over his head, blasting a few guards away. His arm getting tired from using he scepter, he throws a few of his knives to get rid of the rest of the agents in his way.

Then, he stops, seeing who else he should kill before finishing here. He sees Agent Barton stand and draw his gun. In the blink of an eye, Loki is standing in front of him. "You have heart." he hears himself say as he presses the tip of the spear to the agent's chest. He gets some satisfaction when he sees the man's eyes go completely black, then turn a bright glowing blue.

As Loki is using the scepter to put several other S.H.I.E.L.D. agents under his control, Fury grabs the Tessaract and slips it into a secure brief case. The moment he touches it, the thing burns his skin. He keeps quiet, not wanting attention drawn to what he is doing. He stands, trying his best to leave the lab as quietly and quickly as possible.

"Please don't. I still need that." Loki groans. "This doesn't have to get any messier." Fury says. "Of course it does. I've come too far for anything else. I am Loki of Asgard, and I am burdened with glorious purpose." "Loki? Brother of Thor?" Dr. Selvig says in disbelief. Loki rolls his eyes at this.'Thor is an idiot. How can he possibly be so well known and loved like this?' he thinks.

"We have no quarrel with your people." Fury assures him. "An ant has no quarrel with a boot." Loki sneers. "You planning to step on us?" "I come with glad tidings, of a world made free." Loki says smiling like a maniac. "Free from what?" Fury asks, not liking the vibes he's getting from Loki. 'He's insane.' he thought.

"Freedom. Freedom is life's greatest lie. Once you accept that, in your heart...you will know peace." Loki turns to face Selvig who is standing behind him and places his spear against Selvig's heart. Selvig's eyes glow black. "You will know peace." Loki says, like he's baptizing someone. "Yeah, you say peace, but I kind of think you mean the other thing." Fury says. Loki looks up as the building trembles and shakes around them.

"Sir, Director Fury is stalling. This place is about to blow. Drop a hundred feet of rock on us. He means to bury us." Clint says. "Like The Pharaohs of Old." Fury mutters. "He's right. The portal is collapsing in on itself. You got maybe two minutes before this goes critical." Dr. Selvig informs him. "Well then..." Loki says quietly. Without hesitation, Clint unholstered his gun and shot Fury in the chest.


	18. Beginnings

Fury fell to the ground holding his side. Clint grabbed the suitcase holding the Tessaract, and stepped over him. Loki, Dr. Selvig, Clint and the other S.H.I.E.L.D. agents under Loki's control followed Clint from the building. Out in the parking lot, they crossed paths with Agent Hill. "What the hell happened? And where's Fury?" she demanded. "There was an explosion and we got separated when the ceiling collapsed. Fury's fine though." Clint said.

"We need these vehicles." he told her. Agent Hill looked suspiciously at Loki. "Who's that?" she asked. "He didn't tell me." he answered as they got into the truck. Agent Hill continued to look suspiciously at them as they get into the truck and turns to leave. As she's walking away, her walkie-talkie begins to pick up a signal from Fury.

"Hill, do you copy?!" he yells. He pulls the bullet out of his side and stands. "Maria, Barton is..." he doesn't even have to finish his sentence before Agent Hill is pulling out her gun and shooting at the vehicle that Clint's group just got into.

"He's got the Tesseract! Track it down! The energy is really brewing a fucking shit storm from the vacuüm chamber ceiling." Fury cried into the walkie-talkie.

Agent Hill slips into a Jeep and follows after Barton's truck. Loki's trucks screech across the tunnel. Several S.H.I.E.L.D. trucks pull up to them. A drive-by shooting ensues. Loki, who stands on top of the bed of the truck, uses his scepter to launch energy blasts at the pursuers, flipping over S.H.I.E.L.D. trucks. They get in, the cars roar out after them. Agent Hill puts herself at a distance.

Fury races out of the hallway, avoiding falling pipes. The entire facility is now in a full earthquake.

* * *

Agent Coulson and several S.H.I.E.L.D. agents fall down the steps, dropping silver cases of information. They attempt to grab them, but stop when Agent Coulson speaks. "No! Leave it!" They run out of there like a bat from hell.

Agent Hill's Jeep roars out of a side of Barton's truck and pulls up along them on the left. She goes way ahead and pulls her brake, swerving into a 360, facing Barton's truck and driving in reverse. Clint's arms reach out the open window and he opens fire. Agent Hill figures 'fuck it' and shoots her windshield out, opening fire on them.

Agent Coulson jumps into a S.H.I.E.L.D. van. On his walkie-talkie, he gives Fury the go ahead. "You're clear, sir! You need to go!" Fury bolts out of the facility and jumps into a helicopter. The surface of the pad gives way, plunging the helicopter through the surface. But Fury's chopper barely makes it out.

Still in a chase and drive-by sequence, Barton pushes the pedal harder, which causes Agent Hill's Jeep to wobble out of control and push her back. The Tesseract's energy cloud now shrinks into a small ball of white, and a cloud of blue light consumes the entire facility and parts of the desert. Fury watches from below, a rapid build-up into what may be an miles away, Agent Coulson's van feels a jolt of the tesseract's blast waves. The entire facility begins to swallow into itself.

The blast of the Tesseract causes the tunnel to cave in an ocean-like wave, blinding crumbles of falling rock, fall onto Agent Hill's Jeep, leaving her almost trapped under this blanket of Barton's truck, they escape the tunnel and drive into the desert landscape. Fury's helicopter roars over Barton's truck. Loki looks up at the chopper's door as it slides open and Fury stands there, holding a gun, shooting at them.

Loki looks at Fury and in a fit of rage, pointing his scepter at him. The chopper catches on fire, going down in a fiery ball. Fury, like the boss he is, jumps out and touches down on the desert floor. Coming back to his senses, Fury fires his gun at the god, but they're too far and too late.

Loki looks back, smiling. Fury stands there,his mind reeling He puts the walkie-talkie to his mouth, signaling Agent Coulson. "Director? Director Fury, do you copy?" he asks. "The Tesseract is with the hostile force. I have men down. Hill?" he says. Agent Hill climbs out her Jeep, which was sandwiched in, but luckily not her.

"A lot of men still under, don't know how many." she says."Sound the general call. I want every living soul not working rescue looking for that briefcase." Fury ordered. "Roger." Agent Hill replied. "Coulson, get back to base. This is a Level Seven. As of now, we are at war." "What do we do?" Agent Coulson asks. Fury stands there, thinking.

Out in the outskirts, near a railroad, a still in construction building is being occupied by Georgi Luchkov, a large, Russian general along with his thugs. The tall thug is in the middle of a brutal beating on Natasha Romanoff. He back hands Natasha's face. She feels the pain, but does not make a sound. Smiling, he walks up to her. They speak in Russian. "This is not how I wanted the evening to go." she says, smirking.

* * *

"Stark, we need to talk" Agent Coulson says on the phone. Tony picks up his phone and looks into it at Coulson. "You have reached the life model decoy of Tony Stark, please leave a message." he says.

Across from him, Pepper Potts smiles, hiding her laugh. "This is urgent." Agent Coulson says, a little annoyed. "Then leave it urgently." Tony says. At that moment the elevator door opens and Agent Coulson enters. "Security breach. That's on you." he says, pointing to Pepper.

Mr. Stark." he says in greeting. "Phil! Come in." Pepper exclaims. "Phil? Uh, his first name is Agent." Tony says. "Come on in, we're celebrating." "Which is why he can't stay." Agent Coulson ignores him."We need you to look this over." he says. He holds out a file towards Stark. "As soon as possible." he adds. Tony raises his hands in front of him, taking a sip of champagne. "I don't like being handed things." he says.

"That's alright, cause I love to be handed things. So, let's trade." Pepper says. She passes her glass of champagne to Coulson and takes the file from him, then takes Tony's champagne glass back from him and passes the file over to him. "My consulting hours are between eight and five every other Thursday." Tony says as he flips through the files. "This isn't a consultation." Agent Coulson clarifies. "Is this about The Avengers? Which I...I know nothing about." Pepper says quickly.

"I thought the Avengers Initiative was scrapped. And I didn't even qualify." Tony says. "I didn't know that, either." Pepper says again. "Yeah, apparently I'm volatile, self-obsessed, and don't play well with others." Tony added. "Now that I did know." Pepper said with a smile. "This isn't about personality." Agent Coulson said. "Miss Potts, got a minute?" Tony says, motioning for her to follow him. Pepper walks over to Tony who starts placing the files into his own databases.

"You know, I thought we were having a moment." he said. "I was having twelve percent of a moment. This seems serious, Phil's pretty shaken. Didn't you notice?" she asked. "Why is he Phil?" Tony says. Pepper just looks at him. "What is all of this?" "This is, uh..." Tony expands his arms and different profiles appear in holographic form floating in the air in front of him. Screens appear of Captain America in action, the Hulk roaring as he attacks the army at Culver University, Thor fighting the Destroyer and another of Loki and the Tesseract, to which Stark and Pepper look on awe.

"I'm going to take the jet to D.C. tonight." she said. "Tomorrow." Tony urged. "You've got homework. You've got a lot of homework." she pointed out. "Well, what if I didn't?" he asked. "If you didn't?" she said.

"You mean if you finished?" Tony thinks for a moment, then nods. "Well, um...then..." she whispers something in his ear. Tony gasps. Coulson looks away in embarrassment. "Square deal. It's the last date." he said, smiling. Pepper kisses him on the cheek. As Pepper leaves with Agent Coulson, Tony grabs the Tesseract in holograph form, worried.


	19. Action

Inside the Quinjet, Steve is sitting down, holding a tablet watching the footage of the Hulk's attack on the army at Culver University. "We're about forty minutes out from base, sir." said the pilot. Agent Coulson stands up from his seat and walks over to him.

"So, this Doctor Banner was trying to replicate the serum that was used on me?" he asks. "A lot of people were. You were the world's first superhero. Banner thought gamma radiation might hold the key to unlocking Erskine's original formula." the agent replied. On the tablet screen, the Hulk roars with fury as he slams a jeep apart.

"Didn't really go his way, did it?" the soldier asked. "Not so much. When he's not that thing though, guy's like a Stephen Hawking." Steve just stares at him. "He's like a really smart person." he says at Steve's confused look. "I gotta say, it's an honor to meet you, officially." Agent Coulson says, getting a little excited. Steve smiles at Coulson.

"I sort of met you, I mean, I watched you while you were sleeping." Steve looks down. 'Ok, getting kinda creepy there. Just gonna casually walk away.' he thinks. He stands up, puts the tablet down and walks to the side with Coulson following. 'Crap. He's still here.' Steve thinks. "I mean, I was... I was present while you were unconscious from the ice. You know, it's really, it's just a... just a huge honor to have you on board." Coulson stammers still giving off creeper vibes. "Well, I hope I'm the man for the job." he says modestly.

"Oh, you are. Absolutely. Uh... we've made some modifications to the uniform. I had a little design input." he says, pride just under the surface of his voice. "The uniform? Aren't the stars and stripes a little... old fashioned?" Steve asked. "With everything that's happening, the things that are about to come to light, people just might need a little old fashioned." Steve nods, looking off into the distance. Then he freezes as Coulson puts his arm on his shoulder. 'Uh oh.' he thinks. 'This could lead to awkward situations later on.'

* * *

Several soldiers under Loki's mind control run around, preparing to infiltrate whatever place Loki has planned in mind. Loki sits down, watching Dr. Selvig work with a CMS device. Loki sits Indian style and meditates, until...the scepter materializes him back into the throne room of the Other, fully armed in his horned helmet and armor. The Other appears on the steps.

"The Chitauri grow restless." he said. "Let them go at themselves. I will lead them into glorious battle." Loki said confidently. "Battle? Against the meager might of Earth?" the Other said incredulously. "Glorious, not lengthy. The mortals will be formidable however. If your force is as formidable as you claim." the Other stared him down. "You question us? You question ME? He, who put the scepter in your hand, who gave you ancient knowledge and new purpose when you were cast out, defeated?" the Other asked.

"I was a king! The rightful king of Asgard! Betrayed!" Loki shouted angrily, at the moment not caring what his actions got him later on. "Your ambition is little, born of childish need. We look beyond the Earth to greater worlds the Tesseract will unveil." Loki smiled. "You don't have the Tesseract yet."

The Other runs over to attack him, but stops as Loki points his scepter at him. "I don't threaten, but until I open the doors, until your force is mine to command, you are but words." he said. "You will have your war, Asgardian. If you fail, if the Tesseract is kept from us, there will be no realm, no barren moon, no crevice where I cannot find you. You think you know pain? I will make you long for something as sweet as pain." he growled.

Loki tensed as the Other places his hand on Loki's head and transports him back to Earth. Loki looks around. It is barely noticeably, but his body was shaking against his control.

* * *

The Quinjet lands down on the surface of a massive battleship, known as the Helicarrier. It had two runways, one with direct access to a hangar at the rear aligned along the spine of the vessel. Agent Coulson and Steve walk down the ramp, meeting up with Natasha. "Agent Romanoff. Captain Rogers." he says, introducing them.

"Ma'am?" Steve says, with a slight bow. "Hi." she said. She turned to Agent Coulson. "They need you on the bridge. Face time." she said. "See you there." he said with a nod. Agent Coulson walks away leaving Steve with Natasha, walking towards the railing of the ship.

"There was quite the buzz around here, finding you in the ice. I thought Coulson was gonna swoon. Did he ask you to sign his Captain America trading cards yet?" she said. "Trading cards?" he asked, unsure of what she was talking about. "They're vintage, he's very proud." she said, smiling openly. Without realizing, Banner doesn't notice them walking as he is nervous as hell. He moves around as people keep walking in his way.

"Dr. Banner." Steve walks up to Banner and shakes his hands. "Oh, yeah. Hi. They told me you'd be coming." "Word is you can find the cube." Steve said. "Is that the only word on me?" he asked, looking around. "Only word I care about." he said, smiling. Banner taking in the sentiment, said, "Must be strange for you, all of this." "Well, this is actually kind of familiar." he answered. "Gentlemen, you may wanna step inside in a minute. It's gonna get a little hard to breath." Natasha said, winking at Bruce.

Suddenly the Helicarrier starts shaking as it prepares to fly "sail." "Is this is a submarine?" Steve asked, surprised. "Really? They wanted me in a submerged pressurized metal container?" They both move closer to the edge of the Helicarrier. Four huge lift fans mounted on the sides start to lift them into the air. Steve watches in awe as Banner smiles. "Oh, no. This is much worse."

Dozens of agents sit in front of their view screens amid the flurry of activity in the room. Agent Hill shouts her instructions to leave. She turns to Director Fury, who is at the command chair. "We're at lock, sir." "Good. Let's dance." he replies. The Helicarrier rises high into the heavens. Suddenly, the entire ship is covered in reflecting mirrors, which then camouflages in the sky.

Steve and Bruce walk through the glorious, gleaming bridge, taking his position at the science. "Gentlemen." Fury says above them. Steve gives Fury 10 bucks, referring to his earlier statement about never being surprised again. Fury walks over Bruce and extends his hand. He, reluctantly shakes it.

"Doctor, thank you for coming." "Thanks for asking nicely. So, uh... how long am I staying?" he asked. "Once we get our hands on the Tesseract, you're in the clear." Fury replied. "Where are you with that?" Fury turns to Agent Coulson to explain, while Natasha Romanoff eyes an image of Clint Barton on a computer screen.

"We're sweeping every wirelessly accessible camera on the planet. Cell phones, laptops... If it's connected to a satellite, it's eyes and ears for us." Fury said. "That's still not gonna find them in time." Natasha said. "You have to narrow the field. How many spectrometers do you have access to?" Bruce asked. "How many are there?" Fury asked. "Call every lab you know, tell them to put the spectrometers on the roof and calibrate them for gamma rays. I'll rough out a tracking algorithm based on cluster recognition. At least we could rule out a few places. Do you have somewhere for me to work?" the scientist asked. "Agent Romanoff, would you show to his laboratory, please." Fury said.

Natasha nodded and walked off, leading Banner down the hall. "You're gonna love it, Doc. We've got all the toys." she said.

* * *

Dr. Selvig and several scientists work around the CMS device. Clint walks in, holding a tablet. "Put it over there!" the doctor said, turning to Clint. "Where did you find all these people?" he asked happily. He shrugged. "S.H.I.E.L.D. has no shortage of enemies, Doctor." he said, holding up a screen showing information in iridium."Is this the stuff you need?" Clint asked. "Yeah, iridium. It's found in meteorites, it forms anti-protons. It's very hard to get hold of." Clint held the tablet so he could study the picture again. "Especially if S.H.I.E.L.D. knows you need it." he said. "Well, I didn't know!" the doctor cried.

He sees Loki coming and walks toward him. "Hey! The Tesseract is showing me so much. It's more than just knowledge, it's... truth." he said in amazement. "I know. What did it show you, Agent Barton?" the god asked. "My next target." the agent answered, putting the tablet down to clean his bow.

"Tell me what you need." Loki asked. "I'll need a distraction." he said, putting the bow around his body. "And an eyeball."


	20. Abuse

Loki rolled off the bed and stretched. "Where are you going?" Thanos asked. Loki rolled his eyes. "I need to get a few things...for Agent Barton." he said. "Why?" Thanos asked again. "Because the doctor needs them in order to modify the Tessaract. Or have you forgotten what we've been doing for the past six weeks?" Loki asked. Thanos shrugged. "I know what we're doing Loki. I don't need you to remind me." Thanos said, stretching out on the bed. Loki smiled.

"Are you jealous?" the god asked him. Thanos glared at him. "Of what?" he demanded. "Because I spend more time in Midgard than here with you. Because of the Tessaract." the god said. "I'm not jealous of anything." he insisted. "Oh really? Well I guess you wouldn't mind if I just stay in Midgard for a month then?" he teased. Thanos replied by silently glaring at the ceiling. Loki with held the sigh that almost escaped him and climbed back onto the bed.

"I'm sorry, Sandin." he said, kissing his neck. "I promise to make it up to you the next time I return." he promised. "Alright. Fine." he said after a long moment. "You know if we keep doing this, then the Other is going to be very angry if it interferes with his plans." Loki said, pulling on the rest of his clothes.

Thanos suddenly sits up and grabs Loki by the neck, pushing him back onto the bed. "Thanos, I have to go." he whined. "Why are you so interested in this Agent Barton?" he asked. Loki can't help but gasp at this. 'He thinks I'm seeing the agent behind his back!' he realized.  
"There's nothing between us Sandin, believe me. I'm not even sure he has an interest in sex at all." he said. When Thanos slapped him, he realized that was the wrong thing to say at a time like this.

"You've tried to fuck him. Haven't you?" Thanos demanded, his grip tightening on Loki's neck. "N-no. I haven't." he gasped. He knew it was crazy, but now he was worried. This had only happened once before, but he hadn't been sure if it had been a nightmare or real. Now he was positive it had been real.

"Sandin...please...I can't..." Loki struggled to say, as he started seeing spots dance across his vision. Thanos smiled over him, squeezing harder. As darkness claimed him, the last thing he was aware of was the cool air from Thanos removing the rest of his clothes.

* * *

As they're waiting to locate Loki using satellite facial recognition, Coulson and Steve stand side by side, waiting. "I mean, if it's not too much trouble..." Agent Coulson said, quickly, not wanting to bother his childhood hero. "No, no. It's fine." Steve said, trying hard not to smile or-God forbid- laugh. "It's a vintage set." Coulson said proudly. "It took me a couple of years to collect them all. Near mint, slight foxing around the edges,but..."

"We got a hit. Sixty seven percent match. Wait, cross match, seventy nine percent." said Agent Jasper Sitwell. "Location?" Agent Coulson asked, momentarily forgetting about his vintage trading cards. "Stuttgart, Germany. 28, Konigstrasse. He's not exactly hiding, is he?" the young agent says, half to himself.

"Captain, you're up." Fury says, standing above everyone else as usual. Steve nods and leaves, going to get ready.

Loki stands in front of the museum, dressed in 21st century attire and with the scepter, disguised as a cane. He walks up to the entrance of the gala, the plan swirling in his head. There is a lavished gala where an orchestra is playing. They are interrupted as the head doctor walks up to the microphone.

* * *

Steve walks into his locker room. As he approaches to the steel cabinet, the doors open to reveal the updated Captain America uniform, along with his famous shield. He puts the suit on, looking in the mirror. 'Wonder what the doctor would look like in this.' he thinks. As he's turning around, he realizes what he just thought. 'That...why would I think something like that?'

* * *

Outside the museum, German guards stand in their positions. One of them is standing on top of the roof, scoping. He turns, looking around when he hears a strange thwack sound. He looks down, squinting into the darkness. His eyes widen as he sees one of his fellow guards fall from the top of a building with an arrow sticking out of his chest. He raised his gun, prepared to shoot. He doesn't even have time to cry out as an arrow pierces his eye, killing him almost instantly.

Agent Barton and his crew arrive at the doors of the locked science building. He looks at the retinal scanner and pulls out a S.H.I.E.L.D. eye scanner, placing it against the scanner. Then he stands and waits for his signal.

* * *

Loki looks from above the museum. 'They look like tiny little bugs that I could squash with my bare hands.' he thinks, smiling. He tightened his grip on the scepter, now a walking stick, and descends down to where the head doctor is. As he makes it down and near the stage, he flips his cane the other end. The guard there notices him, pulls out his gun, but Loki clubs his head in. 'That felt good.'

That's when chaos erupts. People begin to leave the museum, away from him. Loki grabs the doctor and flips him over onto a marble table of the mythological creatures called Bilchsteim. Loki pulls out an optical torture device, smiling as he plunges it down into the doctor's eye. The doctor twisted and screamed in agony, screaming as his eye is scanned. 'You'll probably look like Odin when I'm done.' Loki thought.

* * *

Suddenly, from Barton's instrument, a holographic eye of the head doctor appears and the image of the doctor appears on the confirmation screen. The doors to the facility open and Barton walks in and finds a cabinet, a glass thermos with a cylinder of iridium.


	21. Disagreements

As the crowd runs away, Loki slowly walks out and materializes in his gold armor and helmet. The police the arrive and with no hesitation, he blasts the cars with magic, flipping them over.

"Kneel before me." he says to the crowd, They ignore him, pushing each other out of the way to Loki after Loki appears, blocking them. They all grin as they raise their spears, encircling the crowd.

"I said. KNEEL!" he shouted. Everyone becomes quiet and then kneels in front him. 'This guy is crazy.' a woman mutters.

Loki stands, holding his arms out, and speaks. "Is not this simpler? Is this not your natural state? It is the unspoken truth of humanity, that you crave subjugation. The bright lure of freedom diminishes your life's joy in a mad scramble for power, for identity. You were made to be ruled. In the end, you will always kneel." As the words resonate to the kneeling crowd, an elder German man stands,

"Not to men like you." he says. Loki smiled. "There are no men like me." he said. The man shook his head. "There are always men like you." he spat. Loki's smile grew wider as he pointed the spear at him. "Look to your elder, people. Let him be an example." As the beam is about to execute him, as the light glows blue, just as the energy beam shoots out, fucking Captain America arrives!

He dives in just in time and blocks the blast with his shield. The beam richochetted, knocking down Loki to his ass.

"You know, the last time I was in Germany and saw a man standing above everybody else, we ended up in a disagreement." Loki, standing up, grinned. "The soldier. A man out of time." "I'm not the one who's out of time." Above them, the Quinjet arrives. A machine gun descends out of the bottom and is pointed towards the god.

"Loki drop the weapon and stand down." Natasha's voice sounds from the speakers. Like greased lighting, Loki sends a blast of blue at the jet. Natasha maneuvers it just in time, giving Steve the time to throw his shield at Loki. The unexpected attack hits Loki square in the chest, knocking him once again to the ground. 'This is just ridiculous...and humiliating.' Loki thinks as he gets to his feet.

Loki fires a shot at Captain America, but he blocks it again with his shield. When he sees this, Loki launches himself into the air, bringing the scepter down in front of him. The captain throws his shield up again, making Loki even more annoyed than he already was. 'I bet without that shield he wouldn't be able to withstand me.' Loki thought. He reached under the shield, and grabbed hold of the soldier's uniform flinging him to the ground as hard as he can. Cap then throws his shield again, but Loki swats it way, as he stands up again. 'Now let's see how you really fight.'

The Captain, using all the moves of a boxer, is once again knocked down by Loki. Standing over him, he points the scepter's tip on his head. "Kneel." Loki breathed. "Not today!" the Captain said, flipping and knocked Loki's legs out from under him. Loki hadn't expected him to do that. Loki grabbed him and flipped him over. Then they both look up as AC/DC's "Shoot to Thrill" blares from the Quinjet's speakers. 'What the hell is that?' Loki thinks. 'What's happening here?' the Captain thinks.

"The guy's all over the place." Natasha says to herself. "Agent Romanoff, did you miss me?" Tony flies over in his Iron man suit and blasts Loki right back to the ground. Iron Man lands on the ground, pulling out every piece of weaponry the suit has. "Make your move, Reindeer Games." he says.

Loki weighs his options, not liking how uneven they are. He puts up his hands and surrenders, his armor melting away. Surprised, all Tony can say is "Good move." Steve gets up from the ground, favoring his side. "Mr. Stark." "Captain." They say in greeting.

* * *

Inside the jet, Loki is on the verge of having a panic attack. 'Sandin is going to kill me.' he thinks. 'He expects me back later on today. He's not going to be happy about this.'

Natasha looks at the sky not liking what she's seeing. The sound of thunder grows louder by the second. Coming out of nowhere. Fury speaks over her headset. "Said anything?" he asked. "Not a word." she said. "Just get him here. We're low on time." he said, hanging up.

Loki tied up and cuffed to his seat, is watched by Tony and Steve from a distance. "I don't like it." Steve said. "What? Rock of Ages giving up so easily?" Tony asked. The other man nodded. "I don't remember it being ever that easy. This guy packs a wallop." he said, rolling his shoulder. Tony shrugged. "Still, you are pretty spry, for an older fellow I mean. What's your thing? Pilates?" he asked. "What?" the soldier asked, confused.

"It's like calisthenics. It's really great. You should try it. You know, you might have missed a couple things, you know, doing time as a Capsicle." Steve looked at Tony, finally meeting his ego match. "Fury didn't tell me he was calling you in." he said. "There's a lot of things Fury doesn't tell you."

Thunder and lightening nearly hit the jet, making it shake violently. 'Where's this coming from?' Natasha thinks. Thunder continues to rumble overhead.

Loki just stares out the window intently, a worried expression on his face. "What's the matter? Scared of a little lightning?" "I'm not overly fond of what follows." Loki said. Outside the jet, a blinding light hits the jet. Not a light. A King.

The Mighty Thor. Thor opened the ramp and grabbed Loki by the throat and flies out in the blink of an eye, leaving the others standing there in a moment. Tony, the first to recover puts on the Iron Man helmet. "Now there's that guy." he groaned. "Another Asgardian?" Natasha asked. 'Think the guy's a friendly?" Steve said.

"Doesn't matter. If he frees Loki or kills him, the Tesseract's lost." Tony turned and prepared jump off the jet to chase after Thor. "Stark, we need a plan of attack!" Tony looked over his shoulder at him. "I have a plan. Attack." he said, jumping out of the jet. The Captain grabbed a parachute to join him. "I'd sit this one out, Cap." Natasha cautioned. "I don't see how I can." he said.

"These guys come from legends, they're basically gods." she told him. "There's only one God, ma'am. And I'm pretty sure he doesn't dress like that." he said, jumping.

Somewhere out in the European mountains, Thor threw Loki into the side of the mountain. He raised his mighty hammer, Mjolnir, looking down at his brother, who he thought to be dead. He was beyond angry by now. Now he was just...hurt. To even see him alive.

"Where is the Tesseract?" he demanded. Loki laughed. "I missed you too." he said. Thor trembled, holding back his anger. "Do I look to be in a gaming mood?!" he boomed. "Oh, you should thank me. With the Bifrost gone, how much dark energy did the Allfather have to muster to conjure you here? To your precious Earth." Thor dropped Mjolnir, causing the mountain to quake. He picked Loki up glaring at him. His brother. He's pissed for what he has done. 'A family is everything to a man or even a god.' he thought.

"Did you you mourn?" Loki asked. "We all did. Our father..." Loki hissed. "Your father. He did tell you my true parentage, did he not?" he said. Thor let go of Loki, and the trickster walked away from him, causing an even bigger wedge between them.

"We were raised together, we played together, we fought together. Do you remember none of that?" Loki turned around. "I remember a shadow. Living in the shade of your greatness. I remember you tossing me into an abyss. I was and should be king!" he snarled. 'I'm sorry Thor. I don't mean to hurt you like this but, I cannot risk you being hurt by Sandin or the Other.' he thought.

"So you take the world I love as recompense for your imagined slights? No, the Earth is under my protection." Loki laughed. "And you're doing a marvelous job with that. The humans slaughter each other in droves, while you ideally threat. I mean to rule them. And why should I not?" he asked. "You think yourself above them?" Thor asked. "Well, yes." Loki said with a shrug. "Then you miss the truth of ruling, brother. The throne would suit you ill." Thor said. Loki shoved his brother to the side. He walked back up to the ledge. He turned.

"I've seen worlds you've never known about! I have grown, Odinson, in my exile! I have seen the true power of the Tesseract, and when I wield it..." "Who showed you this power? Who controls the would-be-king?" Thor demanded. "I am a king!" Thor stared at him in disbelief. "Not here! You give up the Tesseract! You give up this poisonous dream! You come home." Thor ordered. "I don't have it. You need the cube to bring me home, but I've sent it off I know not where." Mjolnir flies back to his hand. "You listen well, brother. I-"

Thor doesn't get to finish his sentence as Iron Man slammed into him, knocking him off the cliff.

Thor and Iron Man crash into the forest floor. Thor rolled over, sitting up then pushing himself to his feet. Tony is still standing, but he decides to keep his distance. The helmet opens in the front, revealing his face.

"Do not touch me again!" Thor growled. "Then don't touch my stuff." Tony replied. "You have no idea what you're dealing with." Thor said. "Shakespeare in the park? Doth mother know you weareth her drapes?" Tony said, stretching out an arm and placing the other across his chest.

"This is beyond you, metal man. Loki will face Asgardian justice!" Thor warned. "He gives up the cube, he's all yours. Until then, stay out of my way..." he said, the helmet coming back down as he walks away. In one quick move, Thor summons Mjolnir, throws it, and knocks Iron Man clear across the forest into a tree. From the mountain side, Loki watches in amusement. 'The Man of Metal is...attractive.' he thinks. 'This is exactly what got me in trouble with Sandin.' he realizes. 'Of course I was innocent of all accusations when he confronted me, but still.'

Thor raises his hand, Mjolnir flying back into his hand. Thor swings the hammer, throwing it at Tony. As Tony stands, the hammer slams into his chest, knocking the mighty Avenger on his ass. Iron Man flies back up and knocks Thor into a tree. 'Right back at you, bitch!'

Thor, kneeling on the ground, summons Mjolnir to his hand again, raising it to the skies and pulling lightning into it. Thor pointed the hammer at Iron Man and the out pouring of bolts lighting increases in intensity. Tony fell to his knees as the electricity courses through the suit. Inside, Tony hears Jarvis say "Power at 400%." Tony grinned. "Well how about that?"

He fires his hand blasters at Thor, knocking the god to his knees. Like two gunslingers ready to draw, both Thor and Iron Man fly towards each other and meet in the middle. Then, they started to ascend. The two battle, Iron Man grasping, Thor, Thor elbowing him and smashing him into the side of another mountain. Thor leaped off the mountain, taking Ironman with him.

Thor and Iron man crash right back down, smashing down every tree possible. Tony yanks Thor right back up. Thor grabs both of his hands crushing them. Tony quickly charges as much energy as he can and shoots energy in Thor's face. The god falls back, losing his stance. Tony headbutts Thor, with his gold-titanium alloy helmet. Thor in turn headbutts him with his fuckin' head and actually sends Iron man across the forest. Again. Tony boosters up and flies back at Thor, grabbing him by the arm and cape and swings him into another tree. Thor looks up, ready.

Thor ran at him with all his patience out the window. Iron man swings and misses, giving Thor the momentum to grab him, lift him and smash him down. He summoned Mjolnir again, ready to bash Tony to scrap metal. Just as he's about to bring the hammer down, Tony uses his hand boosters to skid across the ground and trip Thor over. Standing up, Thor looks for him, but from behind him, Ironman crashed into his back. Thor stood facing him, ready to pounce.

Captain America's shield ricochets off both Thor and Iron man, stopping them. They looked up and saw the soldier standing on top of a fallen tree with the shield back in his grasp, ready to throw it again.

"Hey! That's enough!" he said, coming down. He looked at Thor. "Now, I don't know what you plan on doing." "I've come here to put an end to Loki's schemes!" Thor said. "Then prove it! Put the hammer down." he challenged. Tony stepped forward. "Um, yeah, no! Bad call! He loves his hammer!" Thor backhands him like a pimp with Mjolnir.

Thor, losing all tolerance with this sentential of liberty, raises the hammer. "You want me to put the hammer down?" he said to the Captain. Thor leaps high into the air, raising that hammer. Captain America, realizing his mistake, crouched down and held up his shield. Thor brought that hammer down onto the shield and a massive implosion of light reacts to the vibranium shield creating a massive shockwave that blows up everything standing within a mile radius.

Iron man stands up, looking around like 'HOLY SHIT!' Lying right next to him is the Captain, who never takes his eye off Thor. "See why I said it was a bad idea? No one ever listens to me. And yet you wonder why I'm freaking Iron man." Tony said, shaking his head. Thor looks at both Iron man and Captain America.

"Are we done here?" Steve all just stand there, trying to recover what ever sanity they have left after that epic fight.


	22. Confesions

In the Helicarrier hallway, dozens of S.H.I.E.L.D. police surrounded Loki, escorting him down the hall, his hands in handcuffs, smiling. As they pass the Helicarrier's lab, Bruce stopped working on the Chitauri scepter and looked up. Loki eyed him as he walked, nodding and smiling. Banner rubbed his face into his palm. 'Well I guess things will be a little more exciting now.' he thought.

In the detention area of the ship, Loki stood now free from the cuffs, contained in a large glass cell held up by hydraulic rigs. Fury walked up the control panel. "In case it's unclear, here's the deal: You try to escape. You so much as scratch that glass..." he reached down to the panel and pressed a button which opened up a hatch underneath Loki's cell. Loki peered down into the opening as much as he can from the cell. Without seeing, the sound of gusting wind would make man shit his pants. Not a god, though. Especially not Loki. 'If I die because of this contraption, I won't have to see Sandin again.' he thought ruefully.

"Thirty thousand feet, straight down in a steel trap. You get how that works?!" the director shouted over the noise. Fury closed the hatch. "Ant," he pointed at Loki, "boot." he finished, pointing at the button which would drop Loki into the steel trap. Loki smirked. "It's an impressive cage. Not built, I think, for me." he said. "Built for something a lot stronger than you." he replied. Loki looked into the camera, smiling.

* * *

Everyone watched on the monitor as Loki was interrogated.

"The mindless beast, that makes play he's still a man. How desperate are you, that you call upon such lost creatures to defend you?" Loki said. "How desperate am I? You threaten my world with war. You steal a force you can't hope to control." Fury said, coming closer to the cage.

"You talk about peace and you kill cause it's fun. You have made me very desperate. You might not be glad that you did." he said. "I have no choice but to kill. It's them or me and I happen to be much more valuable." Loki snarled. "What do you mean you don't have a choice?" Fury asked. Loki ignored him, silently scolding himself for allowing his tongue to lip like that.

"It burns you to come so close. To have the Tesseract, to have power, unlimited power. And for what? A warm light for all mankind to share, and then to be reminded what real power is?" Fury smiled. "Well, you let me know if Real Power wants a magazine or somethin'." he said, walking off leaving Loki in his glass cell. Loki looked back at the camera.

* * *

Steve watched until the monitor went black. Thor, who didn't even look, just listened, standing there, feeling torn apart. They all just stand there in stunned silence. Finally, Bruce spoke. "He really grows on you, doesn't he?" he said. "Loki's gonna drag this out. So, Thor, what's his play?" the soldier asked. Thor, realizing he was being spoken to came out of his daze with a jolt.

"He has an army called the Chitauri. They are not of Asgard nor of any world known. He means to lead them against your people. They will win him the earth. In return, I suspect, for the Tessaract." "Seriously? An army? From outer space?" Steve said in part amazement, part shock..

"So he's building another portal. That's what he needs Erik Selvig for." Banner said. "Selvig?" asked Thor. "He's an astrophysicist." "He is a friend?" said Thor. "Loki has him under some kind of spell, along with one of our own. I wanna know why Loki let us take him. He's not leading an army from here." said Natasha.

"I don't think we should be focusing on Loki. That guy's brain is a bag full of cats, you could smell crazy on him." Bruce said. Thor glared at him. "I don't care how you speak. Loki is beyond reason, but he is of Asgard, and he is my brother." he said. "He killed eighty people in two days." Natasha said. Thor shrugged. "He's adopted?" he said, like that was going to make up for everything.

"Iridium...what did they need the Iridium for?" Bruce asked. At that moment, Tony chose to walk in with Coulson. "It's a stabilizing agent." he said. "I'll fly you there. Keep the love alive." he said to Coulson. He turned to the others. "Means the portal won't collapse on itself, like it did at S.H.I.E.L.D." he said happily.

"No hard feelings, Point Break. You've got a mean swing." he said patting Thor's arm, feeling him up on the sly. "Also, it means the portal can stay open as wide, and stay open as long, as Loki wants." he continued.

"Uh, raise the mid-mast, ship the top sails. That man is playing Galaga! Thought we wouldn't notice. But we did." he said to the crew. He covered his left eye, looking around. "How does Fury even do this?" he asked. "He turns." Agent Hill said. Tony looked around the monitors and placed a button size hacking implant under Fury's desk, without anyone noticing. "Well, that sounds exhausting." he said with a sigh.

"The rest of the raw materials, Agent Barton can get his hands on them pretty easily. The only major component he still needs is a power source. A high energy density, something to kick start the cube." Tony said. "When did you become an expert in thermonuclear astrophysics?" Agent Hill asked a little surprised. "Last night. From the packet, on Selvig's notes. You know the Extraction Theory papers." he said, seeing everyone's blank expressions. He threw his hands up in exasperation. "Am I the only one who did the reading?" he asked. Everyone ignored him.

"Does Loki need any particular kind of power source? Steve asked. "He's got to heat the cube to a hundred and twenty million Kelvin just to break through the Coulomb barrier." Banner provided. "Unless, Selvig has figured out how to stabilize the quantum. If he could do that, he could achieve Heavy Ion Fusion at any reactor on the planet." he said. "Finally, someone who speaks English." Tony said, pulling Bruce in for a hug. Steve glared at Tony. 'What the hell does he think he's doing?' Then he realized his slip and looked away, struggling to hide his blushing.

"Is that what just happened?" he said aloud to calm himself down. Tony and Banner shook hands, smiling. A glimmer in their eyes shines as the mutual respect for each other shows. "It's good to meet you, Dr. Banner. You're work on anti-electron collisions is unparalleled. And I'm a huge fan of the way you lose control and turn into an enormous green rage monster." he added, grinning. Bruce looked down. "Thanks." he said, a red tinge coming to his cheeks.

"Dr. Banner is only here to track the cube. I was hoping you might join him." said Fury as he walked in. "Let's start with that stick of his. It may be magical, but it works an awful lot like a HYDRA weapon." he continued. "I don't know about that, but it is powered by the cube. And I'd like to know how Loki used it to turn two of the sharpest men I know into his personal flying monkeys." he said.

"Monkeys? I do not understand." said Thor. Steve stood up suddenly. "I do! I do! I understood that reference!" he said happily, jumping up and down like a child that had to use the bathroom. Tony rolled his eyes, while the Captain looked around proudly. "Shall we play, doctor?" he asked. Bruce smiled. "Let's play." Bruce and Tony walked out of the room. When everyone else was also dispersing, the Galaga player turned ever so discreetly, and went back to the game.

In Banner's lab, Bruce continuously scanned the scepter for radiation with a gamma ray detection scanner. Tony looked at his monitors, shifting and solving as many algorithms and equations.

"The gamma readings are definitely consistent with Selvig's reports on the Tesseract. But it's gonna take weeks to process." Bruce said. "If we bypass their main frame and direct a reroute to the Homer cluster, we can clock this around six hundred teraflops." Tony said. Bruce smiled. "All I packed was a toothbrush." he mumbled. "You know, you should come by Stark Towers sometime. Top ten floors, all R&amp;D. You'd love it, it's candy land." Tony offered.

"Thanks, but the last time I was in New York I kind of broke...Harlem." he said. Tony laughed. "I promise a stress free environment. No tension. No surprises." he promised. "What's your deal anyway?" he questioned. Bruce looked up at him. "Deal?" he asked. Tony nodded. "Yeah, I mean is it guys, girls, animals...children?" he asked, his voice sounding worried at the last part.

Bruce blushed a deep red as he realized what Tony was talking about. "I...I don't think that's..." trailing off as Tony approached him slowly. "Come on man. I'm dying here. I've been wondering about this ever since Coulson broke into my tower to recruit me." he said, leaning on the table and resting his head on his fist, waggling his eyebrows. "That is disturbing. Please stop." Bruce pleaded. "I'll stop if you tell me." Tony said. Bruce sighed. "Fine." Bruce put down is tool and turned to Tony. "I guess I'm...both." he said slowly. Tony jumped up. "I knew it! I just knew you went both ways!" he shouted. "Shhhh!" Bruce said, looking around.

"Dude, there's no one here." Tony said spreading his arms wide. "Look, I don't think anyone knows so I want to keep this quiet. Ok?" he said. Tony nodded in understanding. "I understand. I was the same way with me and my parents. So I never told them." Tony said. Bruce stared at him. "You're...but you're you know a...playboy. I mean I've seen pictures of you with so many women." Bruce said shocked. Tony shrugged. "Hey. I can't help it. I like what I like. And some people wouldn't think it a good thing if Iron man turned out to be...gay." He said.

After a few hours of continuously working, Tony got bored. Really bored. Tony thought 'what the heck' as he poked Bruce with a miniature electrical prod. Just then Steve walked in on them, pissed at Tony. He looked at Bruce. "Nothing?" Tony asked.

"Hey! Are you nuts?" Steve said to Bruce. "You really have got a lid on it, haven't you? What's your secret? Mellow jazz? Bongo drums? Huge bag of weed? If it's weed we can smoke it together. I can help you experiment too. I've got every kind of weed known to man back at the tower. I even make my own sometimes. Just let me know when you wanna take your pick." Tony said. "Is everything a joke to you?" Steve demanded. "Funny things are." Tony replied. "Threatening the safety of everyone on this ship isn't funny. No offense, doctor." Steve said. Bruce shook his head. "No, it's alright. I wouldn't have come aboard if I couldn't handle it." he said. "You're tip toeing, big man. You need to strut." Tony insisted.

"And you need to focus on the problem, Mr. Stark." Steve told him. "And you think I'm not? Why did Fury call us and why now? Why not before? What isn't he telling us? I can't do the equation unless I have all the variables." Tony said. "You think Fury's hiding something?" Steve asked. "He's a spy. Captain, he's THE spy. His secrets have secrets." he pointed to Bruce. "It's bugging him too, isn't it?" he shook his head, waving his hand up in front of him. "Uh...I just wanna finish my work here and..." he said bobbling the words. "Doctor? Anything?" Steve asked.

" 'A warm light for all mankind, Loki's jab at Fury about the cube." he said, pointing at Tony. "Well, I think that was meant for you Tony. Even if Barton didn't post that all over the news." Bruce said. "The Stark Tower? That big ugly...building in New York?" Steve said. He stopped what he had been about to say when Tony gave him a look.

"It's powered by Stark Reactors, a self-sustaining energy source. That building will run itself for what, a year?" Bruce said. "That's just the prototype. I'm kind of the only name in clean energy right now." he said modestly which was a surprise to them. "So, why didn't S.H.I.E.L.D. bring him in on the Tesseract project? I mean, what are they doing in the energy business in the first place?" said Bruce.

"I should probably look into that once my decryption programmer finishes breaking into all of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s secure photos." he said innocently. Steve is taken back by that. "I'm sorry, did you say...?" Tony grinned. "JARVIS has been running it since I hit the bridge. In a few hours we'll know every dirty secret S.H.I.E.L.D. has ever tried to hide." He held out a bag of blueberries. "Blueberry?" he offered. Bruce shrugged and took some.

Steve refused them, politely of course. He just crossed his arms over his chest. "Yet you're confused about why they didn't want you around?" he said in disbelief. "An intelligence organization that fears intelligence? Historically, not possible." he said. Steve rolled his eyes.

"I think Loki's trying to wind us up. This is a man who means to start a war, and if we don't stay focused, he'll succeed. We have orders, we should follow them." he shrugged. " Following is not really my style." Steve smiled. "And you're all about style, aren't you?" "Of the people in this room, which one is; A. wearing a spangly outfit, and B. of use?" Tony said. Bruce decided to speak up before things went any further.

"Steve, tell me none of this smells a little funky to you?" Steve takes in the possibly, but as an obedient soldier, shakes it. "Just find the cube." he said, walking out of the lab. Still torn apart by the possibility, he walks away, towards the hull of the ship.

"That's the guy my dad never shut up about? I'm wondering if they shouldn't have kept him on ice." Tony muttered. "The guy's not wrong about Loki though. He does have the jump on us." Bruce said. "What he's got is an ACME dynamite kit."

"It's gonna blow up in his face, and I'm gonna be there when it does." Tony said. "And I'll read all about it." Bruce promised. "Uh-huh. Or you'll be suiting up like the rest of us." "Ah, see. I don't get a suit of armor. I'm exposed, like a nerve. It's a nightmare."

"You know, I've got a cluster of shrapnel, trying every second to crawl its way into my heart." he said, pointing at the mini-arc reactor in his chest. "This stops it. This little circle of light. It's part of me now, not just armor. It's a...terrible privilege." he said tapping it. "But you can control it." Bruce said. "Because I learned how." "It's different." He went back to the computer screen to read but, Tony slid the data aside with his finger so the two could see face to face.

"I've read all about your accident. That much gamma exposure should have killed you." he said. "So you're saying that the Hulk...the other guy... saved my life?" Bruce said. "That's nice. It's a nice sentiment. Saved it for what?" Tony smiled. "We'll see." he said winking. Banner and Stark get back to work at their respective computers. "You might not like that." Bruce said. "But you just might."

* * *

Steve, with all his might, slid the heavy iron door and stealthily walked in. Secure Storage 10-C was a large warehouse, filled with metal crates. Steve looked up, seeing another level. He leapt up high and holds onto the catwalk railing. He continued on to investigate.

* * *

Inside this particular van, Selvig and a few other soldiers are driving inside a long tunnel. With the CMS device inside, Selvig carefully picks up the small cylinder shaped iridium with metal prongs and lightly places it a slot within the CMS. The CMS accepts it, and he smiles in triumph. Selvig looks at it, devilishly, wondering what else he can do with the Tessaract.

* * *

On a S.H.I.E.L.D. monitor a photo and record of Jane Foster is being looked at by Thor. Thor looks at her, almost like a stalker, remembering his time with her. Next to Agent Phil Coulson nudges his shoulder, bringing him out of his memories.

"As soon as Loki took the doctor we moved Jane Foster. We've got an excellent observatory in Traunsee. She was asked to consult there very suddenly yesterday. Handsome fee, private plane, very remote. She'll be safe." he assured the god.

"Thank you. It's no accident Loki, taking Erik Selvig. I dread what he plans for him once he's done. Erik is a good man." he said sadly. "He talks about you a lot. You changed his life. You changed everything." Coulson said. "They were better as they were. We pretend on Asgard that we're more advanced, but we...we come here battling like Bilchsteim." Thor said. "Like what?" Coulson asked.

"Bilchsteim? You know, huge, scaly, big antlers. You don't have those?" Thor said, not realizing how different Earth was from Asgard. Agent Coulson shook his head. "Don't think so." he said. Thor nodded. "Well they are repulsive, and they trample everything in their path." Thor said, walking over to the side of the ship and looking out the window, lamenting about what had happened and what may come.

"When I first came to earth, Loki's rage followed me here and your people paid the price. And now again. In my youth I courted war." he said. "War hasn't started yet." Fury said, walking in. "You think you can make Loki tell us where the Tesseract is?" he asked.

"I do not know. Loki's mind is far afield, it is not just power he craves. It is vengeance upon me. There's no pain that would prize his need from it." Thor said. "A lot of guys think that, until the pain fades." Fury said. "What are you asking me to do?" Thor asked. "I'm asking what are you prepared to do?" he said. " Loki is a prisoner." Thor insisted. Fury squinted down at him with his one good eye.

"Then why do I feel like he's the only person on this boat that wants to be here?" the director asked. Thor didn't answer. He wasn't sure how to.


	23. Red

Tony stood outside of the cell, staring at Loki.

"You look like shit, Reindeer Games. What's wrong? Eat a bad crab or something?" he asked. Loki turned his head to glare at him. "Leave me alone Man of Iron." the god snarled weakly. "My name's Tony. Or Anthony, but I prefer Tony." he said. Loki stood, but sat down immediately as pain shot through his chest.

'Dammit Sandin...just be patient.'

"So...do you ever get hot in that?" Tony asked, gesturing toward Loki's clothes. Loki looked down at himself. "Sometimes." he said. They went quiet for a moment, Loki sitting, Tony standing until Tony couldn't stand the silence anymore.

"So do you get bored? In here I mean." Loki rolled his eyes. "Why are you here Stark?" he said. "My name is Tony." he said. "Fine. Why are you here Tony?" the god said. "Well I guess I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. You don't look all that...I don't know. I guess evil." Tony said. "I'm not evil. I see things the way they should be and that's the way I attempt to put them." he said. "So you see enslaving the entire human race as right?" Tony asked. Loki shrugged. "I wouldn't call it enslavement." "Then what would you call it?"

Loki laid down on the bench. "A gift."

* * *

"Where have you been?" Bruce looked up as Tony reentered the lab. "I was...talking to someone." he said. "Who? Fury?" he asked going back to his work. "No...Loki." Tony tinkering with his tools. He looked up when Bruce stopped working. "Why?" he asked. Tony shrugged. "I figured he'd be kind of interesting to talk to compared to all of you. Ok?" he said. "Interesting? The guy's a psychopath!" Bruce exclaimed. "But he's kinda interesting." Tony admitted. "Tony..." Bruce began. "What?"

"Please tell me that you're not thinking of doing something with him." Bruce said. "It's about as likely as likely as you and Captain Spandex." Tony said. "Whoa. Steve not like that." Bruce said. "I wouldn't be so sure." Tony said quietly. "What are you talking about?" Bruce demanded. Tony shrugged. "I mean that guy stares at you so much you'd think someone had glued his eyes to your ass." he said. Bruce's eyes widened. "What are you saying?" Bruce asked. "Do I seriously have to spell it out for you? Steve wants a piece of you man. Or more specifically your cock." Tony said with a grin.

They both looked up as the door opened and-speak of the devil- Steve entered. He just stared at them, his face pale white. Then he turned and left as quickly as he came in.

"I think he heard us." Tony said. "You think?" Bruce replied, putting his tools down. "Where are you going?" "I'm going to talk to him." Bruce said. "No, no no! Give it a week, ok? I promise you that he'll come to you by then." he said. Bruce nodded and went back to work.

"So if you guys actually got into a relationship...which one of you would bottom when you guys finally fucked?" Tony asked. Bruce glared at him. "Shut up Tony. Just shut up." Bruce said, threateningly. Tony smiled to himself.

'One step closer to seeing the Green Giant I guess.'

* * *

During the next week, Tony visited Loki everyday. Sometimes it annoyed Loki to the point of wanting to take his own life, but he endured it because he had a mission to complete. It had become like routine so when he heard the footsteps behind him, he automatically assumed it was Tony, come to talk him to death again.

Loki walked back and forth inside his glass cell. He smiled as he felt another presence. 'He's getting better at this.' he thought.

"Tony, I said leave me alone." he snarled. But when he turned, it wasn't Anthony Stark.

It was Natasha Romanoff.

"There are not many people that can sneak up on me." he told her. It was quite an achievement on her part. "But you figured I'd show." she said. "After. After whatever tortures Fury can concoct, you would appear as a friend, as a balm. And I would cooperate." he spat.

"I wanna know what you've done to Agent Barton." she told him. Loki chuckled. "I'd say I've expanded his mind." "And once you've won. Once you're King of the Mountain. What happens to his mind?" she asked. Loki smiled.

"Is this love, Agent Romanoff?" he asked. "Love is for children. I owe him a debt." Loki sat down, crossing his legs. "Tell me." he urged. She pulled up a chair as well.

"Before I worked for S.H.I.E.L.D., I uh...well, I made a name for myself. I have a very specific skill set. I didn't care who I used it for, or on. I got on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s radar in a bad way. Agent Barton was sent to kill me, and he made a different choice." she said. "And what will you do if I vow to spare him?" Loki asked. "Not let you out." she said. Loki laughed.

"Ah, no. But I like this. Your world in the balance, and you bargain for one man?"

"Regimes fall every day. I tend not to weep over that, I'm Russian...or was." she said distantly. "What is it you want?" Loki asked. "It's really not that complicated. I've got red in my ledger, I'd like to wipe it out." she said. Loki leaned forward.

"Can you? Can you wipe out that much red? Drakov's daughter? Sao Paulo? The hospital fire? Barton told me everything. Your ledger is dripping, it's gushing red, and you think saving a man no more virtuous than yourself will change anything? This is the basest sentimentality. This is a child at prayer...You lie and kill in the service of liars and killers. You pretend to be separate, to have your own code, something that makes up for the horrors. But they are a part of you, and they will never go away!

"I won't touch Barton. Not until I make him kill you! Slowly. Intimately. In every way he knows you fear! And when he's done, he'll wake just long enough to see his good work, and when he screams, I'll split his skull! This is my bargain, you mewling quim!" he growled. Natasha turned away from him with a gasp.

"You're a monster Loki." she said. "Oh no. You brought the monster." he said laughing. "So, Banner... that's your play." she said, walking away. Loki stared after her. "What?" he said. "Loki means to unleash the Hulk. Keep Banner in the lab, I'm on my way. Send Thor as well." She turned back to Loki. "Thank you for your cooperation." Natasha quickly walks out, leaving Loki frozen.

* * *

When Tony actually came to visit Loki, he found the god hunched over on his knees. 'So his knees can bend.' Tony thought. "Hey Reindeer Games. Never thought I'd see the day you were on your knees in front of me. Lookn' good down there." he said.

"Go away Tony." Loki said. Tony frowned. The god's voice had lost it's usual bite and was kind of muffled. It had been strong and clear and loud. Now it sounded...plain, emotionless. Even a little sad.

As Tony walked around the cage he saw the puddle in front of Loki. A puddle of blood that was slowly growing from the blood the god was coughing up.


	24. Blood

"Hey, you know you're coughing up blood right?" Tony asked. "And I seriously cannot believe no one is seeing this right now." Tony said, looking around at the cameras.

"I've charmed the cameras so no one knows." Loki turned to glare in his direction as best as he could while choking. "And of course I know that you stupid mortal." he said. "Aren't you a bit worried about that?" Tony asked. "I am worried...to an extent. It is no more than I deserve." Loki said quietly.

"How can you say you deserve this?" he asked. "I do not have to ex-" he paused as more blood came. "I don't have to explain myself to you. You'd never understand." Loki said. "Try me." Tony said. Loki shook his head. "Go away Stark." Loki said. "Alright, going to get a medic." he said. "No! Don't!" Loki exclaimed.

"Dude you're bleeding all over the place. You could probably die...if gods can die I mean." he added. "Of course gods can die. But, I assure you this will not be my undoing." he said. "How can you be so sure?" Loki struggled into a sitting position. The blood loss was making his vision slightly blurred.  
"Because it's happened before." the god answered.

* * *

Bruce looked up as Tony rushed into the lab. "Hey, Brucie?" Tony asked. "Please don't call me Brucie." the doctor said. Tony nodded. "I need you for a moment. You mind?" Tony asked. "For what?" Bruce asked. "I need a doctor. Or a few." he said. "Did you get too close and Loki finally bit you?" he asked. "Well...no. See I went to see him and he was coughing up blood all over the place." he said. "And you don't think that this is a sort of plan Loki's concocted to escape?" Bruce asked. "Well I don't know. He threatened to kill me if tried to help him though. So that's gotta count for something right?" he said.

"He has a 24/7 live video feed on him. Why hasn't anyone said or seen anything yet." Bruce countered. "He said he charmed the . He has magic you know." Tony said. "And you believe this?" Bruce asked in disbelief. Tony shrugged. "There was a lot of blood." Tony said. "Fine. I'll have a team down there in a minute." he said.

When they finally arrived at Loki's cell, the god was lying on his back, eyes closed. "Loki...you ok?" Tony asked. "Don't you listen Stark? I said to leave me alone." the god growled. Tony ignored him. "I brought Bruce. He's a doctor." he said. He decided to leave out the part where he had brought a whole team. Loki would find out soon enough.

"I SAID GO THE FUCK AWAY!" Loki snapped. Tony raised his eyebrows. "Well I am so sorry for caring. And everyone wonders why I'm selfish. There's your answer. People like him." Tony said, pointing at Loki.

"Loki? How are you feeling?" Bruce asked. "What kind of question is that? How do you think I'm feeling?" Loki asked angrily. "Ok. No need to bite my head off. Just want to know how much pain you're in." he said. "You could have just asked me that." Loki moaned. "I think I already did." Bruce replied, taking out his medical supplies. Tony looked at him, surprised. "How the hell did you get all that and I didn't see it 'till now?" Tony demanded. Bruce shrugged. "I don't know Tony." he said, shaking his head.

"Loki, I'm not sure I trust you entirely. So, if you try anything I'll shock you with my taser. And if that doesn't work, then I'll shoot you in the head. Alright?" Bruce said, loading the gun he held in his hand. He held the taser out to Tony.

"Uhhh...I don't-"

"Tony, we don't know if we can trust him. It's bad enough we didn't tell Fury about this, or your little visits with him." Bruce said waiting. Tony took the weapon reluctantly, rolling his eyes.

"Nick Fury I request permission to see my brother." Thor said. Fury nodded. "Alright. I'll let the people on guard know you're coming." he said.

* * *

Bruce stared at the long lines of black bruises on Loki's pale white skin. "Don't ask because I'm not going to tell you anyway." Loki said. He still hadn't opened his eyes yet. 'That's good. Hasn't seen the other doctors yet. He is going to be pissed.'

Bruce just nodded. "Loki, can you open your eyes for a minute?" Bruce asked. Slowly, Loki cracked one eye open, but closed it immediately. "The lights...they hurt." he gasped. Bruce nodded to one of the other doctors outside of the cell and one of them dimmed the lights.

"How's that?" Bruce asked. "Better." said Loki, opening his eyes. Both Bruce and Tony gasped. His eye was black, covered completely by the pupil. Loki looked around, and seeing the other doctors, glared at Tony. "I thought I told you I didn't want you to get S.H.I.E.L.D involved with this." he said. "I-I didn't." Tony said. "I'm not stupid Stark. Those are S.H.I.E.L.D. doctors." he said, groaning.

Just then, Thor came in. "Brother! I must speak with you!" he thundered. He stopped when he saw what was going on. "What is this?" he demanded.

"We're giving Loki a colonoscopy." Tony said. "I'm the one that gets to shove my hand up his ass." he said cheerfully. "No one is shoving anything inside me." Loki growled. "Keep telling yourself that." Tony said quietly.

"What is happening?" Thor asked again. "Loki's...sick." Bruce said. "What's wrong?" Thor asked worriedly. "That's what we're trying to figure out."


	25. One or the other

"Sir, the cameras are acting...weird." said a technician. He had no other way to describe it. One minute the screens has shown Loki sitting in his cell, then the next minute the god was lying in a puddle of blood surrounded by S.H.I.E.L.D. doctors, flickering back and forth between the two images. "What the hell is going on here?" Fury demanded. "We don't know sir." the technician said. "Then get someone to find the hell out."

* * *

"Loki?" Bruce asked when the god went limp. He didn't respond. "He's unconscious." Tony said. "Well that shouldn't be a surprise. He's lost a lot of blood already." Bruce said. "Well can't you stop the bleeding or something?" Tony asked. "I would, but I can't find any openings where blood would even come from. It can't all be coming from his mouth." he said. Tony nodded.

"Perhaps I may look at him. It may be something native to Asgard." Thor suggested. Bruce nodded and stepped out of his way. After a few minutes, Thor stood. "I think I should take him back to Asgard. The All Father might know what to do. " the thunder god said. "I don't think Fury would be too happy about that."

"He certainly would not like it and he won't allow it." said a deep voice. Fury stepped into the room, anger flashing across his face. "What are you doing in here?" he demanded. Thor moved to speak but Tony stopped him. "Loki's sick. Just look at him." he said, pointing to the god. Fury glanced at him momentarily, his features not changing. "Put him in one of the hospital wing's cell rooms. You can check him in there. And I want at least ten guards posted outside the door. No one leaves or enters without a clearance of level 7." he ordered.

* * *

Tony looked at the guards down the hall. Then he looked at their guns. He casually strode up to them, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "Hey." he said. The guards just looked at him and nodded. "So...you know what's going on in there?" he asked. "Sorry Mr. Stark. but you don't have the required clearance level and besides the fact, you're not an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D." one of them said. "Oh come on guys. Just tell me something." he whined.

The guard shook his head. "I can't do that." he said. 'Well, perhaps I can't convince these guys with words but everybody likes money, right?' he thought. He pulled out a hundred dollar bill. "Will you let Benjamin Franklin talk to you for a minute while I just peek in?" he asked. "I can't." the guard replied. "How much would it take then?" Tony asked. The guard sighed, shaking his head. Tony turned to the other guard. "How 'bout you handsome?" The other guard ignored him. 'Well he's rude. People just have no courtesy today.'

"Sir, I don't think you should allow Banner to work on work on Loki." Natasha said. "I know what you said, but if Loki dies, then that cube is lost to us. As in enemy hands." Fury said. "But he's planning to unleash the Hulk. That could bring this whole plane down." she insisted. "Would it make you feel better if you watched him work Agent Romanoff?" he asked. "I guess..." she said. Fury nodded. "Fine then."

* * *

Everything was dark. And horribly warm. He felt as though he was suffocating. 'How dare you defy my orders.' a voice whispered to him. "I'm sorry...I couldn't get back. It was Barton...he came up with the plan for me to stay. I'm sorry...I'm sorry...I didn't think you would be mad. I'm sorry..." he sobbed into the darkness. "We...I thought it would be the best thing for the Tessaract." he said. "I didn't mean to stay so long." he said.

'Remember the Other's words Trickster. Fail and you will not know death, but something worse. Something so horrible you will crave death in its sweetest form. I want you here. NOW!'

* * *

As Bruce ran the X-ray over Loki, he heard him mumble. He stopped for a moment, listening. "Doctor Banner?" said one of the doctors. "Shhh. I think he's saying something."

"I'm sorry...I didn't mean..." they heard. At that moment his voice cracked, his words becoming barely recognizable.

Bruce straightened and looked at the others. "What do you think he was talking about?" a female doctor asked. "Sounded like he was talking to someone." Bruce said. "But to whom? I mean he has an army. He can't be working alone." she said. Bruce just nodded, going back to the X-ray.

"Director!" the agent cried, bursting through the door. "Loki, he's-" his words were cut off when a roar shook the vessel. "Banner." Fury said. "Get the tranquilizers and use them. Don't use lethal force unless it can be helped." he ordered.

* * *

Loki grasped the scepter, sighing as its power rushed into him giving him some relief from the pain. Slowly he turned to leave, but his exit was blocked. Thor.

"Brother what are you doing? Put that down. It's...dangerous." he said. Loki looked down at the weapon, hands trembling. "You think I don't know that Thor?" he asked shaking. "Loki..." he took a step forward. "Stay back!" Loki hissed, pointing the scepter at him. "Loki...please. Let me take you home. Mother misses you." Thor said. Loki shook his head. "Do not...talk to me of her. I have to do this Thor. There is no one else."

'Kill him.' the voice whispered. "No..." Loki breathed. The scepter flared harshly for a moment then faded, sending pain shooting through his arm.

"Loki...put the weapon down." Agent Coulson said. Loki looked at him. "I...can't." the god whispered. "You can't or you won't?" Thor asked. Loki brought his fist to his mouth, biting down on it as a sob threatened to escape him.

'KILL HIM! KILL THEM ALL!' the voice said again.

As the next wave of pain came, greater than the last he decided. The pain wouldn't stop unless he killed them. But perhaps he didn't have to kill both.

And so, he launched himself forward.


	26. Threats

Thor shoved Agent Coulson out of the way as Loki lunged. "Loki stop this madness now!" Thor thundered. "We can help you. All you need to do is give us the Tessaract." Coulson urged, flame gun drawn and inching forward. Loki hissed at him. "You can't help me. No one can. It's too late." the god said, as he thrust the scepter in front of him.

Coulson's eyes widened as the cool metal pierced his chest. It was a strange feeling, some of the power of the Tessaract humming inside him. Almost...pleasant. He fell to his knees as Loki pulled back. As his vision began to darken from the blood loss, he looked up into Loki's eyes. The eyes of his killer. He didn't even notice how tightly he'd been gripping the gun until it went off, flame erupting from the nozzle. 'So that's what it does.' he thought with a smile as Loki disappeared from the room.

* * *

"Bring the carrier inwards and head south. Take us to the water." Fury ordered. "Sir?" a helmsman asked uncertainly. "Is the sun coming up?" the director asked. "Yes." he answered. "Then put it on the left! Get us over water! One more turbine goes down and we drop."

"What's the damage?" Natasha asked. "Engine 3 is down. If we lose one more engine we won't be able to stay up." replied the Galaga player from earlier. "You get that Stark? I need you to repair that engine." Fury said into his earpiece. "I'm on it." Tony said.

* * *

Steve pushed with all his strength on the door to port side. "Stark, I'm here!" he announced into the earpiece. "Good. See what we need to fix." he said. Steve paused, looking around not knowing what he was looking for. "What am I looking for Stark?" he asked. Tony just rolled his eyes inside his suit.

* * *

In his suit, Tony observed within his view screen the damaged engine and its layouts. "I think I know what needs to be done. I gotta get this super conducting cooling system back online before I can access the rotors and work on dislodging the debris." he said.

Tony began pulling on the stuck rotors. He looked over in Steve's direction. "I need you to get to that engine control panel and tell me which relays are in overload." he said, flying into the giant cooling conductors. Steve jumped over to the other side of the broken railing. He made his way over to the control panel and opened it. 'For a man who grew up as a YANK, what the fuck is this!'

"What's it look like in there?" Tony asked. "It seems to run on some form of electricity." he said. Tony sighed. "Well, you're not wrong."

* * *

The Hulk raised his hand and gets knocked off his feet by Thor who tackles him into the next room. Both Thor and Hulk rolled across the floor. Every person runs the hell out. Thor looks up at this magnificent beast. The Hulk stands up and moving like a boxer, wants Thor to make a move. Hulk makes his and misses. Thor swings his massive hand and almost knocks Hulk off his feet. Hulk keeps swinging and missing, pissing him off. Finally, he brings down his arm, but Thor grabs it and wraps around it.

"We are not your enemies, Banner! Try to think!" Thor said. Hulk lifts his arm up, to Thor's surprise, and he sends him flying as he punches Thor in the face.

* * *

Tony continuously blasts broken debris off the turbine engine. 'It's bad, but still repairable.'

"The relays are intact. What's our next move?" Steve asked. "Even if I clear the rotors, this thing won't re-engage without a jump. I'm gonna have to get in there and push." he said. "Well if that thing gets up to speed, you'll get shredded!" the Captain exclaimed.

"Then stay in the control unit and reverse polarity long enough to disengage mag-" "Speak English!" Steve cried in frustration. "See that red lever? It'll slow the rotors down long enough for me to get out. Stand by it, wait for my word." he said.

Steve looked over at the other side where he was. He saw the red lever and jumped towards it.

* * *

Thor crashed into another stack of crates. As he raised his head, he felt something wet on his lips. Blood. As he swiped it off, the roar of the Hulk is not too far off. Thor extended his hand, summoning Mjolnir. Thor focused. His hand straining toward mid-air. His eyes tight in concentration. The Hulk burst into the room, running right at him. At the last second, Mjolnir flew into his hand and Thor upper cuts the Hulk, sending him crashing into a fighter jet.

He stood, shaking his head like 'What the fuck just happened.' He shook it off and angrily rips off the tail of the jet, torques his body like a Greek discus thrower and hurled the massive plate at the god. Thor, sliding on his knees ducks under the tail. Jumping up, he throws Mjolnir with all his strength, knocking the Hulk head over heels.

Hulk falls down, hammer in hand. He tries to lift it, but can't. Try as he may, Hulk wraps his hand around the hammer. The hammer doesn't move. To no avail-he strains with all his might, screaming from the effort. He jumped up again, kneeing the Hulk in the face. Thor grabs his hammer, jumping on him, using the hammer as a lock for his choke hold. Hulk tries to pull him off, but Thor is like a bulldog, not letting go.

Thor flipped off Hulk's back, kicking as hard as he can. The force sends the Hulk through the wall of the jet out into the air.

* * *

Pepper sighed happily as she stretched out on the sofa, glass of wine in hand. She sat up at the sound of breaking glass in the kitchen. Her eyes widened as she saw a shadow pass in font of the doorway. 'How did someone get all the way up here?' she wondered.

She picked up the heavy lamp, nearby welding it like a bat. "Hello?" she said, entering the kitchen. She stopped, staring at the figure standing on the other side of the counter. Behind him the window was smashed and glass littered the floor at his feet. "Get out of my house right now!" she said. He turned, and studied her, his green eyes flashing. In his hand, was a golden spear with a glowing blue gem fitted in the head.

"So you are Anthony Stark's lover..." He smiled at her, the dark circles around his eyes making him look sinister. "Wh-what? I'm not his-oh my god! It's you! From the file. With the...Tessaract." she said realization dawning.

He began to laugh at this, but stopped clutching his chest. "My name is Loki, Miss Pepper Potts." he said, straightening up. "Why are you here?" she asked preparing to throw the lamp at his head. "I am in need of Stark's skills. And you are going to help me." he said. She lowed her arm. Slightly. "Why do you need me? Tony would never help you." she said. Loki smiled again, leaning against the counter top.

"You my dear are how you Midgardians say...Tony's motivation."

* * *

Tony had finished removing the debris and now was pushing the rotating engines when he got the signal that he had a call.

"Tony we need to talk." Pepper said when he picked up. "About what?" Tony asked, grunting. "I can't talk to you over the phone. Come back to the tower. Please." she said. "Why? What's wrong?" he asked worriedly. "Tony, I think he's going to kill me if you don't get here soon." Pepper said, her voice cracking over the phone. "Who? Who's there Pepper? Get down to my lab, lock yourself in and stay there." he said, his voice rising in alarm.

Tony's heart almost stopped when she screamed. Then there was the sound of breaking glass and a lot of other noise. And screaming. "Pepper?"

"Get back to the tower Stark. And tell no one of this." said a different voice. A masculine voice. "Loki?" Tony said in disbelief. "You're wasting time Stark. I get bored easily. Hurry up or I just might amuse myself by breaking your girlfriend's pretty little neck. And remember Stark. Tell no one."


	27. Formiddable

"I'm sorry." Pepper looked down at the god lying beside her. "What?" she asked. "I forced you to lie to Anthony. He's probably killing himself getting here." he said smiling a bit. "Don't worry about it. I deserve for him to worry over me a bit." she said. "It's a funny thing love. It makes you do things you wouldn't normally do." he sighed.

"Have you ever loved anyone?" she asked. "I suppose. Angrboda, my first wife gave me three children. Two boys and a girl. And Sigyn my second, gave me two wonderful sons. I love them both dearly, but my family...well Odin doesn't see why with Angrboda." he said with a sigh.

"Really? That's-"

"Pepper! Pepper I'm here! Don't kill her Loki! You crazy son of a bitch! I came alone and I didn't say anything. I-what the fuck is this?" Tony said upon entering the room, his suit half off.

He stared in shock at the sight before him. A very pale looking Loki, lying down on the couch and Pepper siting next to him with his head in her lap, one hand stroking his hair, the other wiping sweat off his brow with a cloth.

"Ummm..." was all he could say. "Tony. The call was fake. We had to get you here without you asking any questions. And it worked." she said with a shrug. "I thought you were gonna be killed." Tony said broken heartedly. "And this guy right here. You killed Coulson! He was a great guy...type person." Tony exclaimed. Loki's eyes widened and he sat up, wincing in pain.

"The son of Coul is...dead? I-I...did not mean to slay him. I swear it. I just...I just...I didn't mean to." Loki stammered. "I'm sorry..." he sobbed.

Tony stared at the god. He hadn't been expecting Loki to breakdown like this when he told him about Coulson. "Uh...it's ok Loki. He's in a better place now. He was a good agent." he said. Loki nodded, laying back down.

"So why am I here?" Tony asked. "I've heard how you implanted that device in our chest, so I figured that you'd be just as good doing the opposite." Loki said. "The opposite?" Tony asked. "I need you to take something out of me Stark. And I'm not going to take no as an answer." he said. "But...I'm not a surgeon. I can't do that. I might kill you." Tony said. Loki chuckled. "I am a god Anthony. And it doesn't matter. I'm going to die without a doubt if it stays in. If you take it out of me I have a better chance." Loki said.

"Are you serious?" Tony asked. "Of course I am. I'm not planing on dying yet." he said. "If I do this then I want you to do something for me." Tony said. "What do you want from me Stark?" Loki asked, wincing as pain stabbed through his abdomen. "First, I want you to call me Tony. And second, I want you to tell me everything about your plans and about the attack." he said. "I can't do that." Loki said. Tony shrugged. "Fine. Die then." he pouted. "Tony!" Pepper gasped.

"Are you seriously going to side with him? He's gonna bring an army here about a billion times the size of Russia to kill us all and you're going to defend him?" Tony said. "Well I-"

"It's alright Miss Potts. I will comply with the terms." Loki said. Tony nodded, sitting down.

"Alright. Start talking."

* * *

"Has anyone seen Stark?" Fury asked. "Well last I saw him, he was working on the engine with me. Then he took off all of a sudden when I slowed the blades down long enough for him to get out." Steve said. They all turned as Thor staggered into the room looking like shit.

"Your Hulk is...very formidable." he gasped before falling flat on his face.


	28. Damn

Loki studied the strange instruments on the table next to him. "What is this?" he asked, picking one of them up. "That's my nail filer. Hey! I've been looking for that thing forever." Tony said happily, tucking the object into his pocket. "We're not gonna be using that. Not unless you want a manicure." he grinned. Loki shuddered involuntarily. Suddenly he was starting to regret coming to Tony Stark.

"Hey cheer up." Tony said, punching Loki lightly in the shoulder. "I bet you're gonna love this next part. As a matter of fact, I guarantee it." he grinned. "What are you talking about?" Loki asked. Tony reached over and pulled out two small bottles, each half filled. One had tiny white balls and the other yellow. "Bet you don't have anesthesia or morphine on Asgard."

* * *

Steve sat quietly as the other discussed plans on tracking Loki. He hadn't been able to eat in three days. Not since Bruce turned into the Hulk and got knocked off the jet. He glanced at Thor, wondering what he was thinking about. 'It's his fault. Why do I care how he feels right now?' he thought.

"Thor? You've been awfully quiet. You got anything to say that might help us out here?" Natasha asked. The god looked at her startled. "I do not know. Loki has most likely gone back to his allies or to the location the Tessaract is being kept. I know he wouldn't dare go back to Asgard. At least not alone." he said, lapsing into another fit of silence.

* * *

"Tony...why am I...where am I?" Loki asked, slurring the words. Tony frowned. Loki was supposed to be unconscious by now. 'Maybe I didn't give him the right dosage. He is a god after all.'

As he prepared to give Loki another dose of the orally ingested anesthetic, his eyes widened as he read the label. It was written in his own handwriting. Marijuana/Extacy/Vodka Mix.

'Oh shit.' he thought. He had used his own personal drug concoction on Loki. And now the god was higher than a firecracker.

"Loki? I uh..." "What is it Tony?" Loki asked smiling. Tony bit his lip. "Never mind. C'mon. I'm gonna take you upstairs to one of my bedrooms." he said, pulling the god to his feet and leading him to the elevator. He grunted at the strain. The god was completely leaning on him and he was heavy, being taller than him by a good foot at least.

"Just...go to sleep." he said, finally pushing-or rather throwing-Loki onto the bed. He didn't know if he should give the god the actual anesthetic now. He had a feeling that mixing more drugs with illegal drugs was a very bad idea. So he might as well wait it out until the next day.

"Tony?" Loki asked. "Yeah Loki?" "Can you...stay?" he asked. "I guess I can stay." he sighed pulling up a chair close to the bed. Before he knew it, and to his surprise he found himself lying next to the god on the bed. Loki turned on his side, propping his head up on his hand.

"Hello." he said happily. "Hey?" Tony said uncertainly. "So...oh wow. Ok then." he said as Loki laid his head on his chest. 'This is unexpected...and weird. Maybe I can get away.' Tony thought. Soon, not long after he heard the god's soft snoring indicating that Loki was asleep. Slowly, Tony tried to slide off the bed. The arm around his waist tightened, pulling him back.

'Damn.'


	29. Can't Wait

Loki groaned as he sat up. Tony stared up at him, his eyes wide open and red. He hadn't dared to go to sleep last night.

"So you sleep well?" he asked. "I...yes." Loki answered looking around. Tony sat up and jumped off the bed, stretching. "So you want breakfast or do you not do that where you come from?" Loki rolled his eyes. He didn't feel well enough to come back with a clever retort so he just said, "Yes, I will join you Stark." "It's Tony." the inventor said in a sing song voice.

* * *

"I told you he couldn't be trusted." the Other said. Thanos refused to l look at him. "Oh come now. Did you actually think you could trust him to remain completely loyal to our cause?" he asked.

"You want to know the best part about this Thanos?" he continued. The other man turned to glare him down. "What?" he asked angrily. The Other smiled.

"The way he will scream when you punish him." he said, holding out a black metal box. Thanos hesitated, then took the box. "What is it?"

"You remember my experiment with the Trickster? I put something inside him. These are the controls."

* * *

Loki stared at the cereal box. "What am I supposed to do with this?" he asked. Tony tried not to sigh in frustration, barely succeeding. "It's cereal. Like grain crushed up and baked into little circles." Tony explained.

"You Midgardians are quite...interesting." he said, shaking his head. He grimaced as the motion began to make his head hurt and pain began to spread in his chest again.

He gasped as the pain increased, restricting his breathing. "I don't think I can wait any longer for you to operate. We need to do it now." he said, gasping for air. "Fine. Follow me." he said. Loki stood, leaning against the table. As he straightened, taking a step forward, his vision blurred, falling to his knees. "He's...going to..." he said, as the lack of oxygen finally made him pass out.

"You have got to be fucking kidding me."


	30. Removal

Tony, panting from the effort of carrying Loki, set to work removing the god's clothes which was another adventure altogether. "Wow..." he said as he got the last buckle on the armor a lose. "Of course he'd have a six-pack." he said, shaking his head and admiring the body lying in front of him for a moment.

He studied the bruises covering his body. Some of them seemed to be in the shape of a hand, however Tony wasn't sure since they were so distorted and unrecognizable.

After he'd sterilized everything again, and hooked Loki up to the monitors he got out his homemade hand-held x-ray. As he studied the picture before him, something began to move out of the corner of his vision. He stared at the image as something moved again. Then he saw what he was looking for. 'What the fuck?'

The thing in Loki's chest looked like a tadpole, and was about four inches long with a large head and even larger teeth. As it bit into the god's lung, Loki's heart rate began to spike erratically. The creature burrowed deeper into the flesh it was attacking, becoming invisible for a moment.

"JARVIS are you seeing this right now?" he asked. "Yes sir. It seems to be a parasite." the AI system answered. "You think you can remove it?" he asked. "Negative sir. Not without it moving. I think it would be better if you removed it yourself." he suggested. Tony sighed in disgust. "Some help you are." he muttered.

"Do you think it wise to have him here? He is after all the one who plans to start a war with the entire human race." the system said. "JARVIS I forbid you to tell S.H.I.E.L.D. about this or I will shut you down permanently and reprogram you to entertain little children." he threatened. "I understand sir." he said, going quiet.

Tony took a deep breath as he picked up the scalpel and pressed it against Loki's skin. It broke when he pressed down. He frowned. "Well this is going to get us no where." he growled. "Perhaps I may be of service now." JARVIS suggested. Tony rolled his eyes. "Oh really? Well thank you for your sacrifice!" he snapped.

JARVIS said nothing as a laser was lowered from the ceiling.

He watched the screen as he cut, looking at the creature's movements. It started moving a lot more, most likely sensing that it was about to be excavated. He was glad the thing hadn't decided to make its temporary home higher up, or else he would have had to open Loki's ribs.

He frowned as the creature moved again inching up. "Oh no you don't you little fucker. I got you now." he said, using a pair of tweezers to grip the tail. As he pulled, it actually let out a little scream. "EEEAAAHHSSSHHH!"

It finally came out with a pop, wriggling wetly. He grabbed a container, dropped it inside and screwed the top on. After he managed to clamp the god's skin together and wrapped bandages around his slim waist, figuring Loki could heal himself when he woke up and his instruments couldn't put a dent in his skin, he studied the creature, black and slimy and shiny. Up close it looked like a messed up mutated gremlin-tadpole.

He sighed, putting the cup in another air tight container, before turning back to Loki. He picked up the bottle of Marijuana/Extacy/Vodka and a needle. 'I kinda deserve this.' he said, injecting himself with the mixture.

"JARVIS let me know when Loki wakes up. Gonna go smoke a big ass joint and relax." he said. "Of course sir. Would you like something to eat with your narcotics?" the AI asked. "Ha ha very funny. And I am not an addict so don't you dare call an intervention or anything." he said.


	31. Much Too Early

"Sir, Loki has awaken and is requesting to speak with you." JARVIS said. Tony moaned, his head pounding painfully. "What time is it?" he asked. "It is 1 o'clock sir." the AI system answered. "Why's it still dark?" the billionaire asked. "It is 1:00 am. And I assume the sun has not yet risen."

Tony pulled himself from the bed, managing to end up on the floor. "I don't think...I can do this right now...tell him to go back to sleep. He needs to rest since he...just had surgery." Tony said. He didn't even bother to get up off the floor, drifting back to sleep.

* * *

Loki sat, waiting for the AI system to reply. His head jerked up as he heard the vioce coming from the ceiling.

"Mr. Stark is currently resting now. He says you should try to rest and heal." Loki rolled his eyes. "I am sufficiently healed. Can you tell me where his room is?" Loki asked. "I do not think that Mr. Stark would like me to do that." the system said. Loki glared up at the ceiling. "Then I'll leave." he said. There was a moment of silence after that.

"I'm sorry? Did you say you would leave?" JARVIS asked. "I did. Now I want to talk to Stark. Immediately. Or I will leave." he said. "Mr. Stark has informed me that should attempt to leave, I am to put the tower into an immediate lock down." "There are windows." the god said. "Which can be barred." the AI replied. Loki paused.

"Well met...I still would like to talk to Stark." Loki repeated. "I am sorry, but-" Loki cut him off. "I could just find the room myself. It will take me a while, given the size of this...tower. But in the end, I will find it eventually." he said. "Very well. I will inform Mr. Stark to prepare for you. I will light a path for you to follow."

* * *

"Mr. Stark, I must inform you that Loki is on his way to your room." Tony's eyes flew open. "What?!" he said. "Yes. He threatened to leave, unless I allowed him to speak with you. When I informed him that it would be impossible for him to do so, he insisted that he would find you himself." JARVIS explained. Tony groaned, burying his face into the pillow. "No...tell him to wait until later." he whined.

"I don't think I can wait any longer, Stark." the god said, from the doorway. Tony gaped at the unexpected arrival. "Loki, it's...2 am. It's too early for this." Tony sputtered. "I can't wait any longer. And I do not have much time." he said, coming to sit on the edge of the bed.

"What are you talking about? I took that thing out of you didn't I? That's what was...killing you right?" the inventor asked. Loki nodded. "It was, but...my allies. They know what you did. I know they do. They know you removed that...thing." he shuddered. "I can feel them coming. For me. So, if you hope to stop this war then you will listen to me."

Tony sat up, leaning against the headboard. "Alright. I'll listen." he said. "JARVIS, have Pepper bring me breakfast. You want anything?" he asked Loki. The god shook his head. "I cannot eat anything right now." he said. Tony shrugged, leaning back. "So. Spill."

"At first, I wasn't sure who he was or how he pulled me from the Void, but after a while I figured it out. I am a clever man, I will say not to be vain." He paused to take a deep breath.

"His name is Thanos and his ally and master, the Other, is the worst nightmare you could ever have."


	32. Does He Ever Stop Talking?

**Author's Note: **So I wrote this chapter while watching (listening) to part of Once upon a Time. Also funny thing, has nothng to do with the story, I watched (partially watched/listened)the God Wife and I saw Alan Cumming who plays Eli Gold on he show. Took one look at his hair and thought 'This dude knows he's gray and his hair is colored black.' Don't get me wrong I love Alan Cumming to death. Have a slight crush (ok huge).

Thought it was funny. He looks weird now since I've gotten used to him with gray hair. Anyway if you like Alan Cumming or Julane Margules or Cristine Baranski then watch the show. But start with the first season d work your way up. When Alan Cumming first comes on near the middle of the first season (maybe the 2nd) he is halarious. At least I think so. It's awesome. Just thought you'd like to know. Don't judge. I care.

* * *

"So basically...you were in love with this Thanos guy?" Tony asked. Loki nodded. "So...you're gay?" Tony said in disbelief. "Is that the only thing you got out of this conversation?" Loki demanded annoyed. Tony shrugged. "Well I mean I didn't think you were well... gay. Sure you dress...flamboyantly, but you know." he said with a shrug. "Stark I assure you if I was gay, it would not concern you in the slightest degree." Loki said, his pale skin fulshing slightly.

"Oh really? Who bottomed?" the inventor asked. Loki looked away, turning a bit redder. "I knew it!" Tony said, laughing as he rolled around on the bed. Loki sat back, scowling at the man. "I do not see the reason for your amusement." he said. "I just can't picture you taking it up the ass." he said, sitting up. Loki rolled his eyes. "Not that I wouldn't like it." Tony said, winking.

"Can you be serious for a moment Stark. Either Thanos or the Other is coming to take me and I haven't even gotten to telling you what they're planning."

"Alright. I'll stop. So what's going down Reindeer Games." he started to laugh again when he said that. "What is it now?" Loki asked. "Going down...did you do any of that by the way?" Tony asked. Loki glared at him. "'I'm not even going to dignify that with an answer." he said. Tony sighed. "Ok Don't turn me into a pumpkin or anything." Loki made a sound that sounded like growling. "I should." he hissed.

"So you may continue." Tony said. Loki suppressed a sigh. "The Other wishes to control not just the Nine Realms, but beyond that, using the Tessaract. He plans on starting with Midgard." "Wait, beyond the Nine Realms? What's that supposed to mean?" Tony asked. "It means that there are more worlds than you know of...than even my people knew of. He showed them to me. All of them...it was too much to even take in. It was magnificent to behold. There was so much..." Loki said, staring down into his lap.

"Hey, uh Loki? You still with me Rudolf?" he asked, snapping his fingers in front of the god's face. Loki jerked away from him for a moment, at the closeness. He stared at Tony, studying him. "I...never mind." he said, shaking his head. "What's wrong?" Tony asked. Loki shook his head. "It's nothing. I was just...thinking about something." he said. Tony leaned forward. "About what?" he asked. Loki stiffened. "Nothing that concerns you." the god snapped. Tony shrugged, looking at his alarm clock. It read 10:37.

"Well look at that. You could be a politician." he said. "A what?" Loki asked. "You know, someone who makes laws. Or that may be the people with the President. Anyway it all has to do with politics." he said, rambling. Loki siged at his talkativeness.

'Does he ever stop?' he thought.


	33. Sleeping Arrangements

**Author's Note:** So Tony and Loki are getting closer. Sorry to any of you who find their actions a bit weird. But you know...I'm weird. Lol.

* * *

Two awkward weeks had passed since Loki had spoken to Tony. Two very awkward and very revealing weeks. Apparently on Asgard, there was no such thing as alone time or personal space, the billionaire began to think after the first few days.

Tony screamed the first time he woke up to Loki leaning over him, thinking Loki had come to kill him. In reality, Loki had woken up before him and just wanted to watch Tony sleep, which for some reason Tony didn't understand how Loki didn't find that creepy himself. After the first time of waking up to Loki sleeping at the end of his bed like a cat in the middle of the night- or maybe a dog although the god was more cat-like to him- he just thought 'fuck it' and got up to go to the bathroom.

When he returned, and to his utter disbelief, Loki had somehow managed to stretch out over the whole width of the bed- which could fit at least four large sumo wrestlers comfortably- and wrap himself up under the covers. Tony just couldn't fathom how it was possible since the god was at least 6" 2' and nothing but lean muscle. He had just sighed, and after a struggle of positioning the god so he could get in the bed, went back to sleep. He initially had half a mind to just screw it all and push the god on the floor, but no. He was Tony Stark and he was a generous billionaire.

In the morning things became even more awkward when Tony awoke to find Loki practically on top of him. 'Please don't let that be a boner.' he prayed, when he felt something hard digging into his thigh. Luckily, it had just been one of the god's buckles on his leather armor. Tony honestly couldn't see how he could sleep in it.

"Hey." Tony said, as the god entered the kitchen, hair still wet from the shower. "Hello." Loki replied, sitting down. "So uh...about your... sleeping arrangements." Tony said, not knowing where to begin. "If you dislike me sleeping in your bed Stark, you could have just said so." Loki said, poking at the french toast on his plate. "What is this?" he asked. "It's french toast. You know, when you take bread and fry it in eggs and cinnamon. It's good. Try it." Tony urged.

"And, no that's not what I meant when I was talking about the sleeping arrangements. I just thought you'd like a pair of pajamas or something. I'm guessing sleeping in that leather and metal can get pretty uncomfortable." he said. Loki stared at him. "So, you...like sleeping with me?" he asked. Tony shrugged. "I don't really mind. The bed's big enough for both of us so it's cool." he said. Loki nodded taking a bite of the toast. His eyes widened as he swallowed.

"But you do kinda hog the bed when I get up and..." he trailed off when Loki looked up at him, green eyes daring him to continue.

"See, it's good." Tony said proudly, changing the subject. Loki just squinted at the french toast studying the food. "Hmmm." was all he said. Tony just rolled his eyes, smiling all the while.

* * *

"He took it out?!" the Other exclaimed. Thanos nodded. "How? How was that even possible? The larvae should have burrowed under his ribs into his heart." he said in disbelief. "It did not manage to get that far I think. Otherwise I'm sure it would have reached his heart." Thanos said.

The Other hissed, pacing. "I guess one of us will have to go and retrieve him then and implant another Tikilashi in him." he said. Thanos smiled. "Actually..." Thanos began. The Other spun around. "What is it?" he demanded. "The Tikilashi was pregnant. I...wanted to see if they could mate at such an early age." Thanos answered. The Other smiled. "You know, there are times like these when I wonder why I ever doubt you Thanos."

* * *

**Author's Note: **So I have created a new species. The Tikilashi. Call me a scientist. For any of you who want to know what they look like, they look like tadpoles with huge shark teeth and large fins along their backs that contain poison in their more mature forms. They have hundreds of tiny little barb like legs to grab on to stuff. Hey it's my imagination. It's very active.


	34. No oh god no please no

Loki eyed himself in the full length mirror. The green silk pajamas Tony had bought him were soft, but Loki was still uncomfortable. "What's wrong Reindeer Games?" Tony asked beside him. "They are comfortable...but I am not." Loki said. Tony held his arms out in a 'what do you want from me?' gesture. "What's the problem? These are silk, flown in from Japan. They're the most comfortable things you could ever wear."

At Tony's insistence, he'd had customized the pajamas made for the god, having his initials embroidered on the pocket. The color had even been customized, since Loki declined -flat out rejected and cursed- certain shades of green until the perfect color was found. Tony had ordered about 20 other sets, all either black, Loki's custom green, gold or all three colors. He'd even bought the god a bunch of outer wear clothes.

Not that Loki was ever going to go outside anytime soon since every time Tony mentioned it the god began to panic, afraid that exposing himself to the outside world would make it easier for the Other to capture him.

"I did not say the clothes were uncomfortable, I said I was uncomfortable." Loki corrected. "Is there anything I can do to help or something?" Tony asked. Loki shrugged. "No. It's just that on Asgard, I usually slept naked, or in my armor when in battle. I'll just have to get used to wearing...this." he said. "Alright. Well if it makes you feel any better you look nice." he said. Loki raised an eyebrow at him. "Thank you." Tony decided not to comment on the part about sleeping nude.

"Sir, there is a call from S.H.I.E.L.D. coming in." JARVIS said. "Ignore it." Tony said. "Yes sir." the AI system said. A few minutes later, he spoke again.

"Sir, S.H.I.E.L.D. is overriding my systems. I cannot-"

"Stark what the hell do you think you're doing?" Nick Fury's voice came in over the phone. "Ummm, I'm relaxing. You know resting so I can save up my strength should I need it." the inventor said. "You were not given permission to leave the aircraft Stark. I want you back here now. I'll send someone to fly you back." the director said, ending the call. "Oh come on. I don't get a say in this? JARVIS call that bastard back." he said. "I am sorry sir. The number no longer exists. Also S.H.E.I.L.D. has sent Agent Romanov and Agent Barton to retrieve you and they are currently in the elevator."

"Unbelievable. I don't even have control of my own house." Tony muttered. "Loki, I think you're gonna have to leave now." Loki gasped. "But-but I ...and the Other. They-"

At that moment Tony heard the elevator doors open. "Shit. S.H.I.E.L.D.'s here. Look your only other option is to go back under SHIELD arrest. And I know you don't want that." he said. Loki thought for a moment then nodded. "It would be preferred much more than my other option. I'll go, but you must keep me in your custody." he said. Tony nodded, slightly surprised but not really. From what Loki had told him he wouldn't want to go back to the Other either.

"Stark, we're here to-" Natasha trailed off when she saw Loki, Clint right behind her. "What is he doing here?" he demanded. Tony shrugged. "He was lonely and I'm great company?" he tried. Natasha just glared at him and Clint loaded his bow, pointing it at Loki. "Hey look, he's agreed to come back willingly without any trouble. No need to shoot him." Tony said.

"I can't believe you Stark. You've been housing a wanted criminal for God knows how long. You know what Fury could charge you with?" Natasha said. Tony nodded. "I know, but you don't know the reason why I did it." he said. "Fury's not gonna care what reasons you have. He's-" she broke off, listening.

"What was that?" she asked him. Tony shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe it was my pet monkey. Wait a minute...I don't think I have one. God I want one so freakin' bad now." Tony moaned.

They all turned toward the deep voice coming from the dark corner of the room.

"So there you are. I've been looking for you, you ungrateful wretch!" said the voice. Loki paled, gasping for air. He didn't have to turn around to know that voice.

"No...oh god no. Please...no." Loki whimpered, sinking to his knees. Natasha drew her gun and pointed it at the intruder. "Who the hell are you?" she asked.

"Thanos..." Loki sobbed. "His name is Thanos."

* * *

**Author's Note:** Cliff hanger! So who hates me right now? Who wants to know what happens next? I know I do.


	35. Where Are You?

**Author's Note:** So here's another chapter. Enjoy.

* * *

Steve stood, watching the screen. 'C'mon Bruce. Where are you?'

"What are you doing?" Agent Hill asked. Steve whipped around, wide-eyed. "Nothing. I was just...uh..." he didn't know what he could say to explain. She glanced at the computer. "Are you trying to find Bruce?" she asked. Steve looked away, turning red. "I...yeah, I was." he said. "Well I think you should know that you're using the wrong method." she said, leaning over te computer and typing in commands on the keyboard. "There. That should be quicker."

"Thanks." he said. "So, why are you looking for him anyway?" she asked. "I...uh, it's nothing. Just curious on where he is." he said. "Oh really? Are you sure it's not something else?" she asked. He gasped, sounding like he was choking. "Easy there. No one's judging you." she said. "You know?" he asked, horror written all over his face. "You mean that you're attracted to Banner? Yeah, I know."

"How? Does anyone else know?" he asked. Agent Hill shrugged. "I'm not sure. But I did notice how you looked like you wanted to kill Stark every time they got together in his lab. You were looking kind of jealous. Also a little horny." she said. Steve nodded, turning back to the computer.

"I think it's kind of sweet that you care." she said. "You do?" he asked, relaxing a little. "Yeah. Kind of like Beauty and the Beast." she said. "So you think Bruce is a beast?" Steve asked. Agent Hill shrugged. "From what I saw, I'd say he is. Especially in bed if the rumors are true." she added. Steve began to blush again, as he took that thought into deep consideration.

* * *

Loki sobbed as Thanos stroked his cheek. Around them lay Tony's wrecked apartment, the two S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and Tony himself on the floor.

"You know what I'm going to do to you once we return to the castle?" he asked. Loki shuddered, not wanting to think about it. Thanos smiled at the motion. "That's right. You should be afraid." he whispered, running his hands through the god's hair. "Please...I didn't-" Thanos slapped him, knocking him on his back. "I didn't give you permission to speak now did I?" he asked. Loki shook his head, drawing his legs up to his chest and wrapping his arms around them.

"Get up. The Other wants to see you. You remember how he gets when he's impatient." Tony heard. He rolled onto his stomach, looking at Loki. The god was curled into a ball, crying on the floor. 'Holy shit. You don't see that every day.' he thought, pushing himself up onto his elbows.

He looked over at Clint and Natasha, who were also rising. 'What a day not to lounge around in my suit.'

He watched as Loki was pulled roughly to his feet, limping after Thanos. Loki looked at him, shaking his head as Tony summoned one of his suits.

"Hey Oompa-Loompa, it's rude to break something and not pay for it." he said. Thanos turned, smiling. "What is this? Metal armor will not defend you from my master's wrath." he said. "Yeah, well maybe I'm not going for defense. Perhaps offense is better." he said firing energy blasts from his reactors.

Thanos teleported away, laughing. "You Midgardians are so slow. You are lucky I don't have time for this." he said. "Where is it?" he asked Loki. The god shook his head. "Never mind. I'll find it myself." he said, waving his hand. The Chitauri Scepter appeared at his feet. "Pick that up. And if you try anything, I'll skin you alive...after I pluck out those pretty eyes of yours." As soon as Loki picked up the scepter they vanished in a flash of purple light.


	36. Dry Hump

**Author's Note: **So I'm pretty sure some if not all of you will think this chapter is weird if you're not warned by the title of this chapter. I'm just weird like that. And I also thought Tony should do something weird too, and show that he can and will do anything when he's trying to get your attention (at least in my mind) Enjoy! And don't be too creeped out. Sorry if you are. ;)

* * *

"What do you mean Loki is gone? I'd assumed he was gone already." Fury said. "Sir, Stark was...housing him." Natasha said. Tony sighed, tapping his fingers on the table. "Stark you know I could charge you with aiding a wanted criminal and murderer? Just to name oneresult." Fury said. "You didn't see what I saw. If you had, then maybe you'd understand." he said. "Well what you did see, because frankly I don't see your reasoning."

"They're using him. Loki I mean." Tony said. "Using him? How?" Fury demanded. "Yeah. You saw how that over-sized purple munchkin was treating him." Tony said to the two agents standing behind him. Clint shifted on his feet, suddenly becoming agitated and nervous. "I'm gonna go...find a vent or something." he mumbled, dashing away. Natasha shook her head. 'Coward.' she thought, turning back to the Director and Tony. "So what are we going to do?" she asked. "We're going to gather our strength, and prepare for a war."

* * *

Loki shuddered as Thanos stroked his hair. For the first time in his life he was cold. And not just his skin.

"You know I care about you Loki. Don't you?" Thanos asked, wrapping his arms around the god's waist. "Yes." Loki whispered. "Good. That's good." he said. Loki nodded, too afraid to say anything else. His ribs and back still hurt from Thanos' fists.

"Did you like him?" Thanos asked casually, too softly. Loki's eyes widened and he swallowed. "I...I did." he admitted. He knew things would go better if he told the truth, or at least told him what he wanted to hear. "Well then Loki. There's only one thing that can solve this little problem." "What is it?" he asked, preparing himself for another beating.

"I want him dead. And I want you to do it." Thanos whispered.

* * *

Tony sighed, looking around. There was nothing to do. The two guards posted outside his door had ignored him completely, not amused at all with his jokes. Neither had the guards inside the room. He really didn't know why he needed four guards, let alone twoinside the room.

"Are you two virgins?" he asked. Ignored. "Oh come on. It's a simple question. Yes or no." Still ignored. "Can I at least have something to read?" he asked. Nothing. He groaned in frustration, running his hands through his hair. 'Bet they wouldn't even move if I took my clothes off.' he thought. Then he smiled. 'Or would they?'

"So...since you guys are basically statues I guess you wouldn't mind or even know if I stripped would you? I feel more comfortable in the nude." he said. There was no reaction. 'They think I'm bluffing.'

He slowly pulled his shirt over his head, watching for the slightest reaction. When he was shirtless and going for his pants, he caught one of the guard's eyes flicker over to him. 'So you like to watch huh? Well that's good.' he thought, biting back his smile. He continued down to his briefs, slipping them off. He straightened, standing there proudly in all his naked glory. He approached the nearest guard and pressed himself against the man.

"Hey. So whatcha thinkin' about?" he asked. When there was no response, he began to rub himself against the guard. "Bet you wish you had a gun now don't you?" he asked moving to the other guard. "How about you? I saw you looking at me. You liked that didn't you? Well do you like this?" he asked, doing the same thing he did to the other guard. He grinned as the guard swallowed nervously. "You know I think I might just come on your leg. Would you like that?" he asked rubbing harder.

The guard finally cracked after a few more minutes, running from the room in a panic, pressing the panel to close the door behind him. "Well that's rude. I didn't even get to finnish." he said. "But I guess you'll do." As he moved toward the guard, he backed away. "Stark. Stop it." he said. "Oh now you wanna speak?" the billoinare said, coming closer.

Just then the door reopened, and Natasha stepped in. She stared at him for a moment looking him up and down. "Fury wants to see you." she said. "With clothes on." she added as he moved to follow her. He smiled. "Is he sure? He just doesn't know what he's missing out on."


	37. Go Time

Tony stared Fury at across the table. 'This is an awkward moment.' he thought. "Stark I need you focused. I need 100% of you when this war comes- and it will-. I don't need your personal feelings getting in the way. Especially when it turns out you have to come up against Loki." he said. Tony raised an eyebrow.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked. Fury leaned forward. "I assumed that you and Loki somehow became friends. Or maybe something else entirely. I don't know and I don't want to know. What I need to know is if you come up against Loki in battle, will you be able to knock his smug ass back down to where he belongs." the Director said. "Well? Can you do it? Will you do the right thing when it comes to it, no matter the cost?" Fury aid. Tony nodded. "I can do that. Whatever the cost." he answered.

* * *

Loki winced as he pulled on his armor. As he fastened his cloak onto his shoulders, he stared into the mirror at himself. He looked even worse than he had before. His eyes were ringed purple-black, and his normally bright green eyes were dull, seeing but staring into nothing. His skin was white as milk, if not paler with dark blue-black spidering veins creeping up the sides of his neck and face.

He turned away in disgust hating what was becoming of him. 'I have to do this. It is my destiny.' he told himself over and over again. Soon without realizing he'd been moving at all he was standing on the balcony leading from the dining hall, next to the Other.

"It's time." he said. Loki nodded. "I can feel them. They are..restless." he said. "They have been restless for a while." the Other growled. Loki flinched at the harshness of his tone. "I am sorry. I was not ready before. Now I am." The Other turned away, going back into the castle.

"You'd better be." he said over his shoulder. Loki nodded.

'I must do this. It is my destiny.'

* * *

"Sir, I'm getting energy sparks in the atmosphere. Similar to when the Tessaract became unstable." said Agent Maria Hill. Fury looked at her. "How bad is it?" Agent Hill shook her head. "It's...I think it's happening. The war. I think it's begun." she said. "Where's it coming from?" Fury asked. Tony jumped up suddenly.

"My tower." he said. "You think they would go there?" Fury asked. "Remember what Loki said to you? 'A warm light for all mankind.' Bruce said he was pretty sure he was talking about my tower. And with the amount of energy it has stored up, I have no doubt that's where he is. It's gonna take a lot of energy to get that cube to work."

'And as a matter of fact, I think that's why Loki came to me, that bastard.' he thought bitterly.

Fury nodded. "We need to get to that tower. Tony, Steve. Suit up. And someone get the word for the rest of the team to get ready. I've got a feeling this is gonna be bigger than we expected."


	38. The Attack Begins

**Author's Note: **So I feel this chapter could have been better and believe me I have edited it beyond editing capacity. I think it turned out pretty good but... Oh well maybe I'm paranoid or something. Enjoy the chapter anyway!

* * *

Tony stared at the creatures in the air. They were built like a human, but were a lot bigger and were a sort of blue-purplish color, riding flying hovercraft chariot type vehicles. Suddenly one of them turned and fired a shot of energy at him. He dodged the attack flying around the corner of a building He grinned to himself, seeing Steve on the ground fighting off more of the creatures. 'Hello spandex.'

"Steve, I think I need backup here." he said trough the earpiece. "Got it. Hey where did you go? Where the hell are you?" he asked, looking around for where his teammate suddenly disappeared to. Tony landed beside him. "Right here. Get ready, I've got a whole bunch of aliens on my ass right now." he said looking. "Oh...wow." Steve said, looking around the corner.

"Hey look. It's the Rage Monster back from the dead." the inventor said, using his suit's advanced optical lenses to zoom in on Bruce from a distance. "What? Where?" Steve demanded whipping his head around. "Hold up dude. You are acting desperate. I can actually believe you're still a virgin with the way you're acting." he said.

Steve glared at him, cheeks turning red under his mask. "Leave the subject of whether I'm a virgin or not alone Stark." he warned. "Hey, don't act like you aren't one. I can practically smell it on you." The inventor lean in to sniff him and Steve leaned away. "Stop that!" he said.

"Hey, am I too late to join the party?" Bruce asked reaching them. "Not at all. Hey listen. Remember when I said I was a fan of the way you change into a huge green Rage Monster? Well yeah I want to see that. Like NOW!" Tony turned, blasting a Chitauri out of the sky as it rounded the corner. Then above them, a roar vibrated in the air. Tony stared in disbelief at the huge Chitauri leviathan emerging from the portal.

"Hey Bruce. You think the Hulk can take that thing right there?" he asked. "If I- we can get close enough." he said. Tony nodded. "Wait here." he told him, flying off.

"Hey you big ugly gigantic armored worm. OVER HERE!" he yelled trying to get its attention and succeeding. He flew away, guiding it back toward Steve and Bruce on the ground.

"Hey Bruce bringing the party to you. Need you to change now." he urged. "Hey Tony you wanna know my secret on how I keep control?...I'm always angry." he said transforming into the Hulk. As the alien worm came closer, he punched it right in the face. It's armor crumpled around its body, falling off in large pieces of shrapnel.

"Nice Hulk!" Tony exclaimed, fist pumping in the air. "Well at least we know who our official cheerleader is." Steve said. "Shut up Steve. And for your information, I'd make an awesome cheerleader, thank you very much." he huffed.

"So I guess you guys are good here. I'm gonna go and check on my tower." he said. As he turned another one of the alien worms came out of the portal. "Uh...you guys got this, right?" Tony asked. "I guess so." Steve agreed. The Hulk grunted, grinning. "Hulk smash!"

* * *

'Thank God I'm out of that mess for a while.' Tony thought. He had arrived at Stark Tower where Selvig worked around the CMS device that had already been set-up on the rooftop of the tower.

"The device is already activated." the doctor said. "Shut it down." Tony said. "It's too late! It can't be stopped now. He wants to show us something!" Tony aimed his energy blasters toward the CMS and fired. The energy from his blasters shattered with a deafening crack, the explosion knocking Selvig backwards. Down below, citizens of New York took a moment to look up at Stark Tower, then resume running and screaming for the safety of cover.

Tony stared in disbelief at the CMS...The barrier was pure energy. "It's unbreachable." the doctor said, not making any movements to get up.

Then Loki appeared out of nowhere like a dark James Bond, dressed in full Asgardian armor. Tony glared at him.

"Who the hell do you think you are using my tower as an energy source?" Tony demanded. He landed on his gauntlet, walking through it. As he went through it removed his suit piece by piece. Loki looked up at him, smiling. They proceeded to walk into the penthouse, circling each other like feral cats about to fight.

Tony broke the circle first, heading over to the bar. "You know what. I need a drink to deal with this. Tell me you're going to have one too? You look like you need one." Loki chuckled softly. "You should have left your armor on." he rasped. Tony shrugged.

"It's seen a bit of wear and tear. Gonna run it through the washer machine and clean it up a bit. I see you've got the blue stick of Destiny back. Would you like a drink?" he asked again. Loki shook his head. "By the way, what the fuck happened to you?" Tony asked, draining his drink.

"Stalling me won't change anything." Loki said. "Oh no, no! I'm serious. You look like someone threw you under a steam roller, punched you in both eyes and then Casper took a shit on you from head to toe. You sure you shouldn't be scared of that Thanos guy? From what you told me, he's kinda like an abusive boyfriend." Loki grimaced, ignoring the question.

"The Chitauri are coming, nothing will change that. What have I to fear?" Loki said. Tony shrugged, sipping his second drink. "The Avengers." Loki looked at him, confused.

"It's what we call ourselves, sort of like a team. 'Earth's Mightiest Heroes'." he said happily. "I've met them." the god said. "Yeah, takes us a while to get any traction, I'll give you that one.

"But, let's do a head count here. Your brother, the demigod; a super soldier, a living legend who kind of lives up to the legend; a man with breath-taking anger management issues; a couple of master assassins, and you, big fella, you've managed to piss off each and everyone one of them." Tony said, ticking each one off on his fingers.

"That was the plan." Loki said, putting the end of the scepter under his arm. "Not a great plan. When they come, and they will, they'll come for you." He reached underneath the bar table, pulling on a pair of Colantotte Bracelets.

"Why are you doing this Loki?" Tony asked. "Because I must." he said. "I would have never thought beast would have wandered far off." he continued. "You're missing the point. There's no throne, there is no version of this, where you come out on top. Maybe your army comes and maybe it's too much for us, but it's all on you. Because if we can't protect the Earth, you can be damned well sure we'll avenge it."

Loki closed his eyes, turning away and grinding his teeth together. "No, I...can't." he whispered. "Excuse me. Who are you talking to?" Tony asked, coming around the side of the bar. Loki shook his head. "He wants me to kill you." he said. "Who wants you to kill me?" Tony asked. Loki slowly walked up to him, raising the scepter.

"I won't kill you Stark. I can't do that, no matter what he says. I...like you too much to do that." he said. "So I will do something else for you." Loki pressed the tip of the scepter to Tony's chest. Ping! Loki tried again with the same result.

"This usually works." he said. Tony shrugged. "Oh it has performance issues. You know?" Loki's eyes widened as a purple cloud appeared behind Tony, forming into the form of Thanos.

"I thought I told you to kill him." he growled. Loki hesitated. "I can't..." he said. Thanos stepped forward. "Fine then. I'll do it myself." he said. "And it will be just that much more painful." "No!"

Loki grabbed Tony by the throat and flung him across the floor. "Anytime now." Tony muttered. Loki grabbed Tony by the throat again, looking straight into his eyes. "I'm so sorry." he breathed, before throwing Tony out of the window. Tony freefalled down the tower, praying to God this wasn't how he ended. 'Thrown through my own tower window by an angry, paraniod and possibly hard up god.' he thought ruefully.

Behind Loki, an elevator opened and a red pod shot out. He barely had time to move away, as it raced past his head and grazed his cheek. The pod lasers signaled the Colantotte bracelets on Tony's wrists. They transformed into the Mark VII suit and latched onto Tony. He laughed as he flew back up before he hit the ground or the gazing people. Loki looked up, eyes wide in shock.

"And there's one other person you pissed off! His name was Coulson." Tony said, raising hand and firing an energy blast straight into Loki's chest.


	39. Hard as an Emrald

Loki raised the scepter attempting to block the shot, but the blast knocked him flat on his back.

Down on the ground, the Chitauri unleashed blasts of energy as they went, blowing up cars and setting storefronts on fire, explosions ripping out the windows of the top corners of the buildings. Flame and stones rained down, hitting a few people as they ran. Loki walked onto the balcony as the sounds of the Chitauri rang out. He smiled admiring his soon to be kingdom. Then he turned as Thor landed on the roof.

"Turn off the Tessaract or I'll destroy it!" Thor said. "You can't. There is no stopping. There is only the war!" Loki said, throwing back his head and laughing. Thor looked at Tony. "Man of Iron, you should be down there fighting with your team." he said. "No I think I'll stay here. This is my tower after all. And he took it over like he owns it." Thor nodded. "So be it." he said, rushing at Loki. Loki let out a yell, charging at his brother.

They and their weapons collided, sending sparks everywhere. The two battled - Loki unleashing pent-up rage and jealousy. Thor having no choice but to defend swung his hammer at him. Loki dodged the swipe, snarling like a rabid dog. "Stark! I really think you should help your team!" Thor shouted over his shoulder. "They're your team too." Tony answered. "Yes, but I'm busy now. So go." Thor urged. Tony sighed inside the suit. "Fine. Have fun without me!"

* * *

Down where the ground fighting was going on, soldiers and cops were taking up positions and covering the block as best they could. They looked up see Iron man leading a trail of Chitauri overhead.

"Stark, we're heading north." said Natasha. "What, did you stop for? Drive-thru? Swing up Park. I'm gonna lay 'em out for you." he said. Tony banked around his tower, seeing and Loki and Thor still going at it. He swooped down the street, causing the Chitauri to knock over cars on the street.

'Whoops.' Tony thought, putting the following Chitauri in view of the Quinjet. Black Widow pulled out the machine guns and started firing at the aliens. "Sir, we have more." JARVIS said. "Let's keep them coming." Tony said, heading back up.

* * *

Thor and Loki battled savagely. Loki fired energy from the scepter, sending Thor sliding across the roof. "Loki! I don't want to hurt you. Call it off and we can talk." Thor offered. Loki glance behind him at Thanos. "I can't Thor. This is the way it's supposed t be. War. This will be my kingdom and I plan to take it. Isn't that the way it's always been?" he said.

"Loki please. Mother misses you. Come home and we can work this out." Thor offered. Loki hissed. "It's too late Thor. I must finish what I've started no matter the cost." he said.

* * *

Hawkeye looked out to his left window, finding an opening. "Yeah, that's it. Keep on coming." he said. "Why are you encouraging them Clint?" Natasha asked. He shrugged. "Hey, just drop me off over there. I wanna shoot something." he said. Natasha rolled her eyes. 'Men and their macho manliness.'

Natasha banked the jet towards Tony's tower, aiming the minigun at Loki. Loki aimed the scepter at the jet and fired a blast of energy at her. Thor got to his feet, and tackled his brother. The Quinjet now on fire, spun and dropped out of the air as it passed over skyscrapers. Then they slammed into a side of a building.

Clint and Natasha unfastened their seat belts and opened the ramp. "When I said I wanted you to drop me off I didn't mean for you to crash." Clint muttered. "Shut up Clint."

* * *

Steve ran down, followed by Clint and Natasha, each carrying their respected weapons. The trio arrived in the middle of a four-way street. Suddenly, the city lurched to a stop. A deep, primal rage bellowed that roar, a shadow coming over them. From the vastness of space from the portal, another Chitauri leviathan flew out.

Steve stared in disbelief. "Another fucking one?" he said. Everyone turned to stare at him, surprised at his language. "What?" he asked. Natasha shook her head. "Nothing." she said.

Carrying hundreds of Chitauri soldiers, the leviathan passed over them. They looked up, out of their element. From both sides, Chitauri soldiers jumped off and attached themselves to the sides of the buildings, sliding down the sides. Some crashed into the buildings and began firing from their energy rifles at innocent Americans.

"Stark, are you seeing this?" Steve asked. "Yep. By the way how's the Hulk? I can't see him which is weird 'cause he's huge." Steve let out a gasp. "Sure." he said. "Hey get your mind out of the gutter man. Just keep me posted." Tony said. "JARVIS, find me a soft spot." he said, quietly flying behind the creature and parallel with it.

* * *

Thor held Loki's face straight ahead, forcing him to watch the city falling. "Look at this! Look around you! You think this madness will end with your rule?" Thor demanded. Loki tried to look away. "It's too late. It's too late to stop it. We can't..." He looked at his brother, showing a slight sign of hope. Then, Thor gasped as Loki stabbed him with a small knife.

'Bastard. How could I have been so stupid? But perhaps there will still be hope for him one day. But not now.'

Thor kneeled over holding his side. He got back up and kicked Loki to his knees. Then he lifted him into the air over his head and slammed him down as hard as he could. Loki, bleeding, rolled off the edge of the tower. Thor looked down and saw Loki, riding on a flying chariot.

Loki looked back at him, green eyes looking at him sadly, longingly. Then his gaze hardened, those soft forest green eyes turning as hard as a tainted emerald. He turned away, dozens of Chitauri warriors following after him.


	40. Kicking Ass

Clint, Natasha, Steve and Tony arrived on Bridge Street, running beside abandoned taxis. Up above them, Loki is seen leading a large group of Chitauri, blasting anything in his way. "You think Loki looks kinda hot in all that leather?" Tony said. Everyone looked at him. "What? I just thought that wearing leather all the time can be uncomfortable. Jeez. You look at me like I said I was going to marry the guy." he said closing his faceplate.

Steve shook his head. "We've got to get these people out of here." he said, looking around at the terrified people running from Loki, coming straight at them. He looked over as soldiers began to shoot at them. "They need our help." Steve said determined. "They're freaking shooting at us!" Tony exclaimed.

"Those people need assistance." Steve insisted walking toward them, shield up. Natasha pulled out both of her pistols and began firing. She turned to Tony. "We got this. It's good. Go!" she urged. Clint jumped over the soldiers and started scaling a building trying to get as high as he could. "You think you can hold them off?" Steve called up to him. "Captain," he said, pulling a trigger on his bow causing an arrow to be mechanically chosen.

"It would be my genuine-" he shot an arrow into the head of a Chitauri coming toward him, gaining a few seconds for the Captain as he flew down the bridge, followed by Natasha, raced over to the plaza, jumping over dozens of exploding cars. The First Avenger charged like a fucking bull, jumping over a bus full of people. From the windows, small children were being held by their parents, waiting to be pulled to safety. He ran over to the jammed door and jerkily opened it.

Black Widow emptied out her clips, and reloaded from the holsters on her thighs. Clint fired arrows into the ranks of the Chitauri, hitting his mark each time he fired. "Just like Budapest all over again!" she said. "You and I remember Budapest very differently." Clint grinned, which was a rare occurrence.

* * *

The cops continuously fired at the flying chariots. It was pretty pointless. A young cop ran over to his sergeant. "We need to get out! They gotta bring the National Guard!" he said. "National Guard? Does the army know what's happening here?" the sergeant asked. "Do we?" Captain America jumped in front of them. They look up at this ridiculous looking American in tights.

"I need men in these buildings. There are people inside that can run into the line of fire. You take them through the basement or through the subway. You keep them off the streets. I need a perimeter as far back as 49th Street." he said. "Why the hell should I take orders from you?" the officer asked. Suddenly, an explosion comes up from behind the Captain. He blocked an energy blast with his shield. Two Chitauri soldiers attacked him from behind. The cops watched in shock as Steve fought them off with ease. The sergeant turned to his men.

"I need men in those buildings, lead the people down and away from the streets. I need a perimeter as far back as 49."

* * *

Tony swerved around a building and faced the Chitauri leviathan. He pulled out his miniature multiple rocket launcher and fired. The leviathan roared in annoyance. It turned in his direction.

"Well, we've got his attention. What the hell is step two?" he said to his AI system. He flew away as an energy beam was fired at him.

On the rooftop of a building, Clint tripped a Chitauri soldier and rammed an arrow down its throat. Natasha got her hands on an energy rifle and stick fought with it. 'I so wanna fire this right now.' she thought as she put it under her arm and starts firing at every purple skinned creature that came at her. Steve, using his shield, swatting and whacking on coming Chitauri soldiers. 'They just keep coming.' he thought.

It seemed to be too much on the team, until...lightning struck down from the sky. Channeling the blast, Thor fired the electricity out at the Chitauri soldiers around him. They were blasted back in a massive shock wave. The Chitauri convulsed, dropping dead to the ground. Thor clasped Steve on the shoulder.

"What's the story upstairs?" the soldier asked the god. "The powers surrounding the cube are unpenatratable." he said. "Thor's right. We gotta deal with Loki and Thanos first." Tony said out of nowhere through the earpiece. "Are you always just listening to us?" Steve asked. "Don't get your panties in a bunch Captain. You're not that important." the inventor said.

"Who is this Thanos guy and how do we do this?" Natasha asked. "He's the one controlling Loki. I've seen the guy. Looks like a seven-foot tall purple smurf but fugly as shit." Tony said. Thor frowned. "Impossible. No one has ever been able to control Loki." he said. "Well apparently you're wrong. He's got Loki so under his control that he's practically his bitch. Literally. I think they fuck." Tony said. "What!" Thor exclaimed. "Look are we gonna talk or are we gonna fight?" Steve asked. Above them, they heard the Hulk roar, as Loki and his group of Chitauri were attacking him. "There he is! The Hulk is back." Tony said happily.

"As I have unfinished business with Loki, get in line." Thor said.

"Save it. Loki's gonna keep this fight focused on us and that's what we to take care of. With him these things could run wild. We got Stark up top, he's gonna need us."

Iron man swooped down the street. The Chitauri leviathan following him. 'Stop following me! I'm not your mother. Leave me alone! And you better not eat me.' Tony wanted to shout. It barreled down the street like a freight train that keeps building and building its speed. Tony looked behind him. Steve looked up at him.

* * *

Loki watched from above, looking on at the Avengers destroying his Chitauri forces. "Thanos...I think we should stop. We're not going to win this." he said. Thanos hissed. "We cannot stop now. And we will win. You know the consequences of what will happens if we do not." Then he teleported away.

* * *

Tony and the other Avengers looked on in horror as Chitauri soldiers and even more Chitauri leviathans fly out of the portal. "Oh come on!" Steve said, frustrated. "It's like their numbers are endless." he said.

Way out of their fucking limit. "Call it." Tony said. "Alright, listen up. Until we can close that portal up there, we're gonna use containment. Barton, I want you on that roof, eyes on everything. Call out patterns and strays. Stark, you got the perimeter. Anything gets more than three blocks out, you turn it back or you turn it to us." Steve said. Clint turned to Tony.

"Can give me a lift?" he asked. "Right. Better clench up." he warned. "Clench up? What's that supposed to mean?" the assassin asked. Tony grinned behind his helmet. "Don't you worry about that." he said, wrapping his arms around Clint's waist and lifting him in the air.

"Thor, you've gotta try to bottleneck that portal. Slow them down. You've got the lightning. Light the bastards up." Steve said. Thor nodded, flying up. "You and me, we stay here on the ground, keep the fighting here." he said to Natasha.

Up on the skyscraper, the Hulk ran up the wall, hitting several Chitauri soldiers, snapping in dives towards a building on the other side of the street, throwing the dead Chitauri soldiers towards the other soldiers. The Chitauri soldiers fired at him. The Hulk backhanded them, seizing them and with raw power, throwing them down.

In his most powerful leap yet, the Hulk flew up and is in the middle of a flying chariot traffic jam, to which he smacks them out of his way.

* * *

Thor grabbed onto the tower. Raising Mjolnir and KRAKAKABOOM! A blinding bolt of lightning strikes down from above, colliding on the hammer. Thor aimed this massive shock wave towards the group of Chitauri. He channeled the blast and fired the electricity out at the soldiers flying out of the portal. They're blasted back in a massive shock wave. The Chitauri soldiers convulsed, dropping to the ground. He even ripped the shit out of a Chitauri leviathan, which then fucking collapsed on the ground.

* * *

Back on the bridge, Fury saw on his viewscreen the destruction going on in New York. Agent Hill walked up to him. "Sir. The council is on the line." Shit. Fury pressed his fingers to his temples.

* * *

Up on the rooftop, Hawkeye fired arrows into the streaming flow of the Chitauri riders, hitting his mark each time as usual. Hell, he even aimed his bow behind him, without looking and released the arrow, exploding all the creatures coming up behind him. "You got a lot of strings sticking to your tail." he said to Tony. "Just try and keep them off the streets, they can't bank worth a shit. Find a tight corner. " he told him. "I will roger that." Tony said.

Tony did so, leading towards tight corners and in between buildings, into Clint's view, who fired arrow upon and arrow, exploding the Chitauri keeps leading Chitauri riders under tunnels, through open parking garages. He looked back. None of the Chitauri that had been following him were left. "Nice call. What else you got?" Tony asked. "Well, Thor's taking on a squadron down on 6th Street." he suggested. "And he didn't invite me? How rude."

* * *

Inside a conference room where office workers sat around a table a noise caught one worker's eye, then another, and soon they are all rising, stepping to the window, mesmerized by what was outside. It didn't make sense why they hadn't left already at the beginning of the attack. A Chitauri leviathan swims right in front of them like 'Hey I'm attacking your world. Don't worry. Go back to working. I'll get to enslaving you soon. Until then...RUN FOR YOUR LIVES BITCHES!'

Suddenly, another noise catches the workers' attention. The Hulk crashed through their floor, slashing his way through the room, pounding away and jumped out onto the jaw of the leviathan. The creature began to head down, trying to wave off the Hulk.

On the street, Black Widow using the energy rifle, is taken off her feet by a Chitauri soldier. She tiresomely takes it down by cutting its throat. She grabs the energy rifle, turning to Steve. He stands there, holding his shield up. She slumps back, exhausted. "Cap, none of this is gonna mean a damn thing if we don't close that portal." she said.

"Our biggest guns couldn't touch that." he said. "Well, maybe it's not about guns." She gestures toward the flying chariots. "You wanna get up there, you're gonna need a ride." he said. "I got a ride. I could use a boost though." she said, standing. She backed up giving herself a running start. Cap lifted and angled his shield. "Are you sure about this?" he asked. "Yeah. It's gonna be fun." she said, still running at him.

She launched herself into a run, using her feet to run up a car and jump onto the shield. He gives her a boost, sending her flying into the air. She grabbed onto a flying chariot. She climbed onto the chariot and cut the turret shooter's linkage to it. She then jumped on the rider and stuck her knives into his nervous system. She gets him to bank over a building.

Iron man arrives and shoots any other Chitauri riders following her. He makes his way down to Captain America, who fights off more of the soldiers. He pointed his handboosters at Steve's shield. The energy comes off and the Captain uses it as a reflection beam and takes down nearby Chitauri. From above them, Clint sent down remaining arrows. He sends one across the street, taking down a rider following Tony.

Finally, we have Thor and Hulk fight on top of the back of a Chitauri leviathan, tearing it apart and fighting the soldiers coming out of it. The Hulk broke off a massive piece of armor and slammed it down onto the spine of the leviathan. Summoning all his strength Thor raised his hammer, drawing lightning to it from all sides, and brought it down with a final, terrible blow.

The leviathan crashed into a history museum. Dead. Thor and Hulk stood on the back of the leviathan after bringing it down. They stand still, admiring their work. Hulk suddenly punched Thor in the face with his enormous hand. Thor went flying. Hulk grunted in satisfaction. 'Next time deal with your own shit on your own world.' the move seems to say.

* * *

Selvig woke up from Loki's mind control. He looked around, confused at where he was. He looked up at the sky. 'What the hell happened? And what have I done?'

* * *

Several humvees aimed their mounted 50 Cal guns into the sky. Firing and hitting Chitauri expertly on target. Steve fought off a soldier who was pinning him down with its energy rifle. He broke its leg, stood up and picked up his shield and hit the alien wih it.

"We need you at the bank on 42nd past Madison, we've got a lot of civilians here." said a voice on his earpiece. "I'm on my way." When Steve arrived, dozens of civilians had gathered in the bank. Tension and uncertainty surround them. Three Chitauri soldiers oversee them, pointing their weapons at them. One of them charged a bomb when it saw the Captain. Steve jumped through the window and threw his shield at it. The two other soldiers aimed their rifles, but the Cap headed for cover under a desk, which he kicked at them.

He jumped over the desk, head locked a soldier, while backhanding another one over the railing. The crowd moved away. Another Chitauri attacked him from behind and ripped off his helmet. The bomb began to beep.

"Everyone! Clear out!" Steve flipped over the soldier, grabbed his shield and just as the bomb was about to go off, a Chitauri bomber dived for it, trying to stop it, but it went off, sending Captain America through the window, landing very hard on a car. The civilians look up from below. Steve got off the car, looked around the city. Destroyed. The police and firemen arrive, pulling out those civilians he saved. A waitress looked back smiling.


	41. First Kiss

**Author's Note: **So just so you know this story is coming to an end. But don't worry. There WILL be a sequel. Loki's Resentment. And possibly one after that. Only 3 chapters left. OK so enjoy the chapter!

* * *

Back on the bridge, Fury looked on his viewscreen to see the World Security Council #2.

"Director Fury, the council has made a decision." said the #2 Security Council person. "I recognize the Council has made a decision, but given that it's a stupid ass decision, I've elected to ignore it." he snapped. "Director, you're closer than any of our subs, you scramble that jet..." said #1 Security Councilor. "That is the island of Manhattan, Councilman. Until I'm certain my team can't hold it, I will not order a nuclear strike against a civilian population." he argued.

"If we don't hold them in the air, we lose the advantage." said #1. "I'm not sending that missile. That is my team and they can handle it."

* * *

Black Widow, still driving the chariot with the rider, is hit at her side. She looked about, wondering whose energy fire it was she was being hit with. She looks over. Oh. Loki. She follows him in hot pursuit. They race downward, trailing between buildings. They race madly, driving and dodging.

Hawkeye looked at her. "What are you doing?" he asked. "Uh... a little help here! This guy is like an eel." she said. Clint grinned, pulling the trigger twice, nocked an arrow, and pointed it at Loki, "I've got him." he said.

The arrow streaked down the city, straight at Loki's head but...snatch! Like a cat, Loki grabbed the arrow right out of the air. He looked straight at Clint, smiling. The look on his face says 'Not today motherfucker." Then...BOOOOMMM! The arrow explodes in Loki's face, crashing into the Stark Penthouse pad.

Natasha looked down and building her momentum, she jumped off the chariot, lands on top of the tower, rolling herself to a crouching position. Loki looked up, shocked at what just happened. The Hulk leapt up and kicked Loki, sending him hurtling towards the glass window. He collapsed as he hit the wall. "Why don't you just kill me? It would be better you beast!" he snarled. The Hulk jumped in, and Loki ready, rolled himself up in a flurry of broken glass, standing up to the Hulk.

"YOU ARE, ALL OF YOU ARE BENEATH ME! I AM A GOD, YOU DULL CREATURE, AND I WILL NOT BE BULLIED-" the Hulk grabbed Loki by the legs and smashed him against the floor repeatedly and finally throws him aside to the ground. Loki let out pitiful whimpers on the floor, not moving.

Black Widow walked up the CMS machine. Selvig, slumped down, weakened, looked at her, the Tesseract's energy firing towards the portal, gaining in strength, at the surge of energy moving through the cube. "It's the scepter, the energy...the Tesseract can't fight itself. You can't protect against yourself..." he said. "It's not your fault. You didn't know what you were doing." she said to him.

"Well, actually I think I did. I built in a safety to cut the power. Loki's scepter might be able to close the portal." he said. Selvig looked down. He sees a gold gleam. "And I'm looking right at it."

* * *

Thor rides on top of a chariot, smacking several riders with his hammer. As Thor takes the reins, a Chitauri leviathan crashes through a building, knocking him down to where Captain America is, fighting off aliens. Iron man flies right next to the leviathan and aims his laser booster at it. "Sir, we will lose power before you cut through that armor." JARVIS informed him. Tony flew up ahead, facing the on coming creature.

"JARVIS, You ever hear the tale of Jonah?" he asked. "I would not consider him a role model." the AI system said as he flew towards the Chitauri leviathan unleashing every arsenal on the suit. The leviathan opened its mouth and Tony flew in and burst out the other end, making the creature fall down to the ground dead. Tony rolled down the street. The wind is knocked out of him and he looked up with an overwhelming sigh as a small band of Chitauri soldiers rushed toward him, holding out their rifles.

Hawkeye turns to fire his last arrow. Using his bow as a staff, he knocks some of the soldiers coming to him off the building, before yanking his last arrow off a dead body and nocks his arrow, dives down the building and fired his grappling arrow up into the side of building. Falling down, Clint finds the momentum and swings himself into a building and cannonballs.

Up in Stark Tower the Hulk holds several Chitauri soldiers by the face and slams them down. More keep coming.

The Hulk looked up. Hundreds of riders hovered over him. Then...all of them fired at him. The Hulk roared as the energy beams struck his skin. It hurt like hell, but no damage was done. The Hulk takes them like he's running through a light rain. Blocking the stream of streaking blasts, as though he's swatting at mosquitoes.

* * *

A lone pilot sits in his cockpit, when suddenly Security Councilor #2 appears on his screen. "Director Fury is no longer in charge." he says. "I order 7 ALPHA 11 into action." he said. "Confirmed. Prepare for take off." he ignited his engine.

Back in the bridge, Agent Hill sees on her screen 7 ALPHA 11 preparing to take off. "Sir, we have a bird in motion!" she shouted out. "Anyone the deck, we have a rogue bird! We need to shut it down! Repeat! Take off is not authorized!" Fury said.

Fury ran out to the deck, holding a fucking airtronic RPG-7. He takes aim and fired, hitting the tail end of the jet. The jet skidded off towards the edge. But then, another 7 ALPHA 11 JET makes its way down the runway, flying off. He makes no effort to run after it, knowing he can't do anything about it.

"Stark, you hearing me? We have a missile headed straight for the island." he said. "How long?" Tony asked. "Three minutes, at best. Stay low and wipe out the missile." Iron man fought off as many Chitauri soldiers as he tried to get away to the missile.

"JARVIS, put everything we got into the thrusters!" he said. "I just did." he said. Tony left the streets and flew up into the air. 7 ALPHA 11 arrived outside the city. He flipped the switch to press the launch button. He presses it. The missile flies out to Manhattan.

"ALPHA 11. Destination is in 2 minutes, 30 seconds." he reported, leading the aircraft away.

* * *

Captain America and Thor battled, side to side. Steve and Thor both throw their respected weapons. Thor catches Mjolnir, but as Steve turned, an energy blast strikes him down. Hard. Thor ran over to a broken car, swings the hammer and flips the car over and over on its side, crushing a few Chitauri. Steve tries to get up. Thor helps him back to his feet. He raised his shield. "Ready for another bout?" Thor asked. "What? You gettin' sleepy?" Steve asked him.

* * *

Selvig, back in scientist mode, clacked away at his laptop. He nods. Natasha grabs Loki's scepter, slowly breaks into the force field, almost touching the Tessaract. "I can close it! Can anybody hear me? I can shut the portal down!" she said. The closeness of the Tessaract seemed to be affecting her earpiece.

"Do it!" Steve said, over the static. "No, wait!" Tony said. "Stark, these things are still coming!" Steve said. "I got a nuke coming in, it's gonna blow in less than a minute. And I know just where to put." he said. Iron man caught up with the speeding missile, now coming at the missile from behind. The missile speeds on. He grabbed it from behind, gripping it tightly.

With a mighty effort, he wrenches the rocket off its path turning with it. He accelerates quickly, flying straight up into sky, towards the portal. "Stark, you know that's a one-way trip?" the Captain said. Tony took a deep breath. "Save the rest for return." he told JARVIS. "Shall I call Miss Potts?" he asked. "You might as well." he said.

* * *

Pepper, along with her crew, watches on the T.V. in horror, the destruction in New York. On the table, her cell phone vibrates, showing Tony's picture on the screen. She doesn't even notice it.

Back in the bridge, every single agent holds their breath as they too watch Iron man fly up into the sky. But then, they see another figure flying after him. A figure clothed in dark leather on a Chitauri chariot.

As he climbed higher and higher over the city, gaining speed, he looked over at Loki suddenly beside him. 'What the hell?" he thought. "Tony, what are you doing?" Loki demanded. "You-what are you doing?" Tony asked. "Tony, if you do this you will die." the god said. "You should have thought of that before you attacked my world. So this is what you got Loki." Tony said. "Tony..." he hesitated,

"I think I love you." he said. Tony stared at him. "Oh..." was all he could say.

"JARVIS...I want you to try Pepper again." he said. As he waited again for her to pick up he looked over at Loki. The god was avoiding his gaze, looking ahead. "Loki if for some reason I even survive this...or we if this might kill you too...then I love you too man."

Just then Pepper answered. "Tony...is this really happening?" she asked. "Yeah. I just thought I should call. I tried a couple of minutes ago, but you didn't answer." he looked at the nearing entrance of the portal. It would be a couple of minutes before he reached it. He assumed he had time. He hoped. He kinda had alot to say.

"I think we had a good run Pep. I love you." he said. He could her her crying on the other end. "I...I love you too Tony." she said. "Hey don't be sad. I hope you find someone else. But don't get too excited. I am too great to replace." he said. Pepper laughed. "Oh god Tony. You're so..." "I'm Iron man Pepper. Who can beat-" the call ended as he entered the atmosphere of space.

"Tony? Tony!" Pepper cried as she watched him disappear into the black whole in the sky. She looked at her phone. It flashed that the call had disconnected.

* * *

As he entered the atmosphere of space he could feel the pressure of it. He let go of the missile, watching it float off toward the mothership. "Sir, the atmosphere is affecting the oxygen levels. They are decreasing rapidly. They should only last a few more seconds." the AI system said, breaking up. He looked over at Loki. The god watched him for a moment before looking away. He closed his eyes, before disappearing from his view.

Then, he felt himself fall. He couldn't breathe easily anymore. Everything seemed to stand still. 'I'm going to die out here.' he thought. To Tony's horror, he saw a whole armada. The black sky is filled with what must be at least a billion ships in a vague cluster. Most of them hung still in the air. Some moved swimmingly about. Tony couldn't see how there could be that many ships anywhere.

Then everything went black.

* * *

Every single agent cheered. Fury smiled. He tried to communicate with Tony. "Stark? Stark, talk to me." he said. There was no response.

Suddenly, all of the Chitauri Soldiers and Chitauri leviathans keel over and begin to shake, then stop. They all fall. The Avengers look up at their consultant, not sure if he'll make it.

Back at the tower, still holding the scepter in hand, Natasha shifted around. "Come on, Stark..." Next to her, Thor stared at the portal. "I did not think it would end like this." he said. "It's not over yet. Tony still has time before the portal closes." she said. "I wasn't talking about the Man of Iron." the god said. "Loki...why would he go?" she asked. "I do not understand Loki's mind he is...he's been like that ever since we were children." They were soon joined by the other Avengers.

Thor and the Captain saw the supernova coming towards them. Thor nodded to Steve. As the hole begins to close, two small figures shoot out from it. Tony and Loki. They keep falling, their speed increasing.

Steve smiled. "Son of a gun!" They keep falling. And falling. And falling.

"They are not slowing." Thor said. He began to swing Mjolnir around. Just as Thor flies up, the Hulk snags Tony out of the air. They both crash into the ground. Thor looked at the Hulk like 'Seriously? You can't save my brother too?' Thor flew up, grabbing Loki's unconscious form.

The Hulk threw Tony off of him, as Steve ran over to them. He pulled off Tony's helmet. Underneath, Tony was pale white, not breathing. They just stand around not sure. Then...the Hulk yelled in Tony's face. 'Are you serious! I just saved you and you have the nerve to die on me?' was probably what he was thinking. The noise startled Tony back into consciousness.

"What the hell? What just happened? Please tell me nobody kissed me?" he said. "We did it. Hey. Alright. Good job. Let's just not come in tomorrow. Let's just take a day. Have you ever tried shawarma? There's a shawarma joint about two blocks from here. I don't know what it is, but I wanna try it." he said. Thor walked over to them. "We are not finished yet." the god said, looking over at Loki. "And then shawarma." Tony said hopefully.

Loki opened his eyes, looking like a piece of shit rag doll. He takes a few breathers, senses someone is behind him. He turned to find the Avengers staring at him, all pissed.

"If it's all the same to you. I'll have that drink now." he said weakly, laying back down. The Hulk snorted at him. Tony, leaning on Thor dropped down beside him. "Did you actually mean what you said up there?" he asked quietly. Loki studied him. "Perhaps." he said hesitantly. Tony smiled. 'Oh what the hell. I might as well.' he thought. Then without even thinking about it, he leaned down and kissed the god.


	42. Coming Out

**Author's Note: **So only a few chapters left for part one. I'm going to go slower with **Loki's Resentment**. Still being posted on FFN.

Btw if you wanna cheat then just know that this entire fic and about half of Loki's Resentment has been posted on FFN. Not gonna judge if you wanna see what happens next faster. I know I would. Under the name of Rathian Empress. ;)

* * *

Loki didn't pull away from the kiss. But when Tony tried to stick his tongue in his mouth, he resisted. He pushed back. After a while, Tony finally relented. Loki smiled inwardly when Tony did so.

Steve inched over to Bruce. "So...hey." he said to him. He had shrank back down to his normal human size. Bruce smiled. "I know you like me." he said. Steve's eyes widened. "Wha-what? How? How does everyone know!" he demanded. Natasha smiled. "It's not really that hard since you kinda get a metophorical boner whenever he's around." Bruce shook his head smiling. "That's not important." he said, tipping Steve over bridal style and kissing him.

Everyone just stared at them. Clint considered Natasha for a moment, wondering if he'd lose a hand, or even his tongue. "Don't you even dare Hawk." she growled, without looking. He nodded. 'Figured as much.' he thought, looking over at Bruce and Steve. The Captain was blushing a deep red as he was uprighted.

Thor looked like he was ready to pound Tony into the ground with his hammer. "Man of Iron..." he growled. Tony looked at Thor. "Oh hey Thor. Just uh..." Tony trailed off as Thor took a step forward. "Hey man. We're cool right? Avengers love each other." he said uncertainly. Above them, lightning flared in the sky. "Man of Iron. I must take Loki back to Asgard to be held responsible for his crimes." was all the god said. Tony nodded.

"No you will not." Thanos said, appearing out of nowhere. "Seriously? Where do you even come from like that? Is this guy a ninja or something? Can you teach me oh 'great master of not being there until you want people to see you'?" Tony said. "JARVIS?" he said quietly. "Yes sir?" the AI system said shakily. "How's my suit? I have a feeling I'm going to need to fight again." he said. "Sir, the Mark IV is at 27% power. But I think it unwise for you to engage in battle at the moment." "Well I really don't have a choice now do I?" Tony said, getting up.

Thanos smiled. "You would dare to defend this creäture? My ally has his own business with the Trickster. Surrender him to me or die." he said. "Thanos, stop this. Leave them alone. Your fight is with me." Loki said, pushing himself to his feet.

"You swore to win this war Loki. But you have failed me. You have failed the Other. He told you of the consequences. Now I am here to fulfil them." he pulled a small device from the air. "I will make you beg for death, long for it. But you will get no such a pleasures from me." he said, turning the device on.

Pain ripped through his body. His knees gave out from under him. He couldn't breathe, couldn't move. His vision was starting to blur as the pain grew, spreading through him.

And as the pain grew to agony, he couldn't stop it from coming. He screamed.

* * *

The Other snarled at Thanos. "Where is he?" "He is with the Midgardians." Thanos answered calmly. "And you left him there? I told you to bring him to me. How dare you disobey me!" he shouted. "I activated the Tikilashi. It is working as we speak. Killing him." Thanos said hastily. The Other growled. "How long?"

"A few weeks at most. Perhaps even a month at best." he said. The Other nodded. "Good. He will last much longer than if you had brought him to me."

* * *

After Thanos disappeared. Things seemed to get worse for Loki. He had curled up into a ball, refusing to move. Now Thor was carrying him to an acceptable place to use the Tessaract to go back to Asgard, which was Central Park.

Loki in too much pain to protest, lay limply in his arms, too drained of energy to come up with a clever remark or to curse him for touching him. Thor grew even more worried at that. Usually Loki would protest if Thor even so much as reached out to hug him. This wasn't a good at all.

Tony opened the Tesseract and took it out of its case, placing it inside the glass tube Thor was holding. Thor shifted Loki so that he was slung over his shoulder, so he'd have a hand free to activate the Tessaract.

Loki groaned at the movement, sending even more pain through his body. "Thor..." he said weakly. "It is alright Loki. We will arrive in Asgard soon." he said. "No...mother. I do not...want her to see me like this." he sobbed. "She will not have to see you if you do not wish it. Although she will want to see you very badly." Thor twisted the tube, causing the cube to activate.

The two gods were engulfed in a flood of blue light and they were gone.

* * *

In the TV news montage about the Avengers, there were various reports of what happened. Some of people agreed that the Avengers did good, protecting the city. Others believed it was their fault that everything had happened.

"Superheroes? In New York? Give me a break!" said one older man, who looked a lot like Stan Lee, though no one noticed or bother to say anything. "These so-called heroes have to be held responsible for the destruction done to the city. This was their fight. Where are they now?" said Senator Boynton. "What? You think that this was somehow their fault? Captain America saved my life. He's a hero, just like all the rest of them, wherever they are. I just wanna say thank you." said the waitress that Steve had rescued.

Bruce climbed in with Tony in his sports car. Steve had decided to follow them back to the tower on his Harley. Natasha and Clint climbed back into S.H.I.E.L.D. supplied cars. They all parted ways. For the moment.

* * *

Fury once more faced the members of the World Security Council sighed like 'Just leave me the fuck alone. DAMN.' "Where are the Avengers?" asked Security Councilor #3. "I'm not currently tracking their whereabouts. I'd say they've earned a leave of absence. "And the Tesseract?" asked the #2 Security Councilor.

"The Tesseract is where it belongs: out of our reach." Fury said, not batting an eye. "That's not your call." said Security Councilor #1. "I didn't make it. I just didn't argue with the god that did." he said. "So you let him take it and the war criminal, Loki, who should be answering for his crimes?" she said again. "Oh, I think he will be." Fury said.

"I don't think you understand what you've started. Letting the Avengers loose on this world. They're dangerous." she continued. "They surely are. And the world knows it. Every world knows it." "Was that the point of all this? A statement?" "Not a statement. A warning." He walked out of the room, Agent Hill meeting up with him. They walked together, toward the window looking out into the sky.

"Sir, how does it work now? They've gone their separate ways, some pretty extremely far. We get into a situation like this again, what happens then?" she asked. "Then they'll come back." he said. "You really sure about that?" she asked. "I know it." he replied. "Why?" she asked. "Because we'll need them." Agent Hill turned around. Fury looked out, a smile tugging at his lips.

* * *

As soon as Pepper saw Tony, she practically tackled him. "Hey! I'm injured. Be careful." he said. She glanced over at Bruce and Steve, who were holding hands and kissing. "Ummm...should I even ask?" she said. Tony shook his head. "Nope. Just...pretend they're not there. It gets kind of annoying after a while." he told her. "Just because you're not happy right now doesn't mean you have to rain on our parade." Bruce said, pulling Steve onto his lap.

Tony looked around at his house. "This is just great. You two both know that you will be helping me with this right?" he said. "Of course Stark." Steve said cheerfully. Tony rolled his eyes. 'Ugh.' he thought, shaking his head.

"Pepper...we need to talk." he said. She nodded, as he led her over to the sofa. It was the only piece of furniture on the whole floor that was still usable. "What is it Tony?" she asked. "I uh...I think we should break up." he said slowly. Bruce and Steve looked at them. "Well that's blunt." Bruce mumbled. Tony shot him a look. "You know what just go back to kissing or whatever." Tony said to them.

"What? What are you talking about?" she said. "I sort of...figured out something during the attack." he said. "And what would that be? That you're in love with another woman?" she asked.

Tony took a deep breath. "No...that I'm bisexual. And attracted to another man. Or god rather."


	43. Last Wishes

**Author's Note:** By the way, happy Mother's Day to all you mothers and soon to be mothers out there. Enjoy the chapter.

* * *

"Father, I ask you to be lenient in Loki's sentencing. He was being controled by Thanos and his ally, the Other." Thor said, walking beside Odin. "I know that my son, but it would look as though I was giving him a gentler sentence just because he was my son. The people would be outraged." the king said.

"But, father they tortured him! They still are. Can you not hear his screams? The healers do not know what to do. They do not know what is wrong." Thor insisted. Odin Shook his head. "I have already made up my mind Thor." he said. "But father-" "No Thor! The matter is over. Leave me be."

Thor stopped walking, watching his father grow smaller and smaller the farther he got. 'Loki deserves better than this.' he thought. As he stood there, he could still hear Loki's screams echoing in his head.

"I must do something."

* * *

Pepper stared at Tony. "You're what?" she said in disbelief. "I'm bi Pep." As he said it, he could feel a tightness in his chest lessen, one that he never even known was there.

"How did you find out?" she asked. "You're not mad?" Tony asked, sounding relieved. Pepper shook her head. "No. I mean...it's not your fault. You can't control something like this." she said. "But, why didn't you tell me earlier?" she asked. "Well, I guess I didn't want to accept it.

"My father...he wasn't a big fan of well, guys like me. So I guess I pretended and hid it as best I could. After a while, I sort of started believing it. But then I met...Loki." he said. Pepper's eyes widened. "The guy that attacked New YorK? I thought you meant Thor when you said a god." she said. Tony nodded. "Oh god no. He's all man. And he's got this Jane girl I heard. Anyway I got to know him. Loki. He's not really like that...well maybe he is. He's kind of vain, narsistic and power-hungry. But through all that, I still like him." he said. Pepper nodded.

"I hope it works out for you." she said, standing. She looked around. "So. The Stark Tower could look better." she said with a laugh. Tony grinned. "Yeah. I guess it could." he said. "You wanna help me fix it back up?" he asked. "Definitely."

* * *

"Loki...can you hear me?" Thor asked, kneeling down beside the bed. His skin was a dark blue. After Loki had found out what he really was, Odin had released the illusion he had cast on him centuries ago to hide his skin. Loki had taken it up instead, maintaining the spell. Now his magic was so drained that he could no longer do it.

By now, Loki's screams had been silenced with a powerful calming herb Frigga had mixed herself. It was most likely that Loki wasn't even conscious with the size of the dose he'd been given. Their mother had been a little hurt when she heard Loki didn't want her to see him, but she had respected his wish and stayed away.

Thor smiled, relieved when Loki opened his eyes. His eyes were a clouded over, milky green. "Thor...you came to see me." he said weakly. Thor nodded. "Of course I did. You are my brother." "After all I did...said...you still came." Loki repeated going quiet. "All that is in the past now." he said.

"What can I do Loki? To ease your pain?" Thor asked. "Stark. Tony Stark..." he said, closing his eyes. "Stark? The Man of Iron? You wish to see him?" Loki moaned. "Yes Thor. Stark. He can...help me."

Thor nodded. "I will see what I can do about that. But...I am unsure if father will allow him into Asgard." He rose from his knees, stretching.

"Thor..." Loki said. "Yes Loki?" the thunder-god asked. "Will you stay with me?" Loki said so quietly, Thor hardly heard him. Thor smiled. "Yes Loki." he said, laying beside his brother on the bed.

Perhaps, he was going get his little brother back after all.

* * *

Tony grinned. It had taken almost a whole month, but he'd done it. Well...they had done it. Steve, Bruce and Pepper, along with a whole bunch of hired workers.

"Well that was easy." Tony said. Pepper scoffed. "That's easy for you to say. You sat on your ass the entire time." she said. Tony frowned. "Hey, I was very influential in the reconstruction of this tower." he insisted. Pepper smiled. "Yeah, whatever you say." she said, flopping down onto the couch.

"So?" she asked. "So what?" Tony said, handing everyone a drink and then sitting down beside her. "Have you started dating anyone yet? Or you know..." She made a whiplash sound. "What? No. No, I haven't...no." he said. He could feel his face growing red. "Why not?" she asked, taking a sip from her drink. "I don't know. Usually I'm just a...whore I guess. But I guess I'm waiting for something." he said. "What are you waiting for?" Steve asked.

"He's waiting for Loki." Bruce said grinning.

"Hey, that's not it. And by the way...have you guys even had sex yet?" Tony asked. "Since when did this become about our sex lives?" Bruce demanded. "Hey, I'm just askin'. Every time I see you two cuddling or something, the Captain seems to be begging for it. I'm surprised you don't see it." Tony said.

Steve shifted uncomfortably, sliding off his lap to sit beside Bruce on the arm of the chair. "Tony, I don't think that's any of your business." he said. Tony raised his hands in mock surrender. "Sorry. Didn't mean to intrude."

"It's alright Steve. He's just mad that he doesn't have a boyfriend. Or even a girlfriend for that matter." Bruce said teasingly. Tony rolled his eyes and drained his scotch. "Anyone want some popcorn while I'm up?" he said. "Yeah, sure." were the answers.

As Tony stood in the kitchen, waiting for the food there was a clash of thunder that ripped through the sky. "What the hell?" he exclaimed as about 300 pounds of thunder god crashed through his window, knocking him to the floor. "Thor? What's the meaning of this? Can't I have a day where I can relax and not get injured?" Tony groaned as he felt a few of his still healing ribs protest under the god's weight.

"Get off of me Thor." he pleaded. The god rolled off of him, and jumped to his feet. He was surprisingly swift for someone who was so large...well muscular.

"Stark, I need you to come with me."Thor said. "What are you talking about?" Tony asked, leaning against the counter, waiting for his chest to stop hurting.

"It is Loki. I believe he might be dying...and he wants to see you."


	44. Hopeless

**Author's Note: **So this is the last chapter for Loki's Pain. I know I know. Sort of a cliff hanger. Sorry! The sequel is called Loki's Resentment. Going to be up by the end of this week. Hope you enjoyed this one. Thanks for reading. :)

* * *

"What do you mean he's dying?" Tony asked. Steve and Bruce walked into the room, having heard the commotion.

"What's going on in here Tony?" Steve asked. "Anthony Stark must come with me to Asgard immediately. Loki is dying, and it is one of his last wishes that he sees the Man of Iron." Thor said.

"I thought you guys didn't like humans coming into your world." Tony said. Thor looked down at the floor. "We do not." he said. "So Old Man Wrinkle's just gonna let me in just like that?" Tony asked. "Not exactly." Thor said. "And why's that Point Break?"

Thor sighed. "I came here on my own accord and on Loki's behalf. The Allfather knows nothing of this. I...asked him to allow you into Asgard, but he refused." the god said. Tony raised an eyebrow. "I thought you were all good and stuff. Didn't think you'd ever go against your own father."

"Yes well these are the rare times that I am desperate enough to disobey the word of the Allfather. Especially when you might be able to save my brother's life." Thor said. "Me? How?" Tony asked, taking the popcorn out of the microwave. He cursed softly at how hot it was and dropped it.

"Loki spoke as if this was something that you had done before. That you had removed something from him. He insists that this is the same thing, but more dangerous. None of our healers can see anything that is out of the ordinary. We do not know what is wrong. Which is why I come to you, Man of Iron. I beg you to save my brother's life."

Tony nodded. "Alright. I'll go. But if your daddy gets mad and starts firing arrows, I'm using you as a freaking shield." he said, going to gather all the supplies he thought he would need.

* * *

"You must not attract attention to yourself. I must get you into Asgard unnoticed and it must remain that way during your stay." Thor cautioned. Tony nodded, rolling his eyes.

"Yes Thor, I know. You've said it like a million times already." he complained. He was still upset that he didn't get to take all the equipment he'd wanted to take that he thought he would need. Thor had insisted they needed to move quickly and travel lightly. Steve and Bruce had insisted on coming for some reason. Bruce, for scientific purposes and Steve for some other reason Tony didn't know of. Probably to increase his chances of getting laid.

"Remember Anthony-"

"Hey, Thor?" "Yes?" Thor asked quietly. "Shut the hell up." Tony growled, uncomfortable on the horse he was riding.

At the gate, Heimdal had let them pass without a glance. "I hope this works." he had said.

Now, they were halfway to the Asgardian castle and Tony was growing more and more irritated. Partially because of Thor and his fear of getting caught and having to take another much longer hidden route around, and partly because of his dislike for riding horses. Especially this horse. It somehow kept biting him every fifteen seconds.

At last they finally reached the castle and Thor snuck them in through a servant's entrance. From there, Thor had his personal servants fix places for Tony, Steve and Bruce to sleep. Bruce and Steve decided to take the stay in the same room. Or rather Steve demanded it. Politely of course. Then, after he had the floor cleared, he led them up to where Loki was being kept.

When Tony entered the room, the first thing that hit him was the air. It was impossibly cold.

"Why's it so cold in here?" Tony asked. "Loki...he is unable to control his magic. Because of his parentage, he was born a frost giant. When he became ill, he was no longer able to maintain the image he used to appear...normal." Thor explained. "Normal?" Tony asked. Thor placed a hand on his shoulder. "He is not as you remember him." was all he said, drawing back the curtain on the bed.

Tony stared at the blue figure lying in front of him. His normally pale white skin was a deep cobalt blue and engraved with sharp ridged designs. He even had two little horns on the sides of his head. It was Loki...but then it wasn't.

When Tony reached out to touch him Thor grabbed his hand. "You must not touch him. Frost giants...their skin is colder than ice. You could lose your hands to frostbite." he said. Tony nodded, thankful for the god's presence. He knelt down beside Loki.

"He looks...peaceful. And a little like the devil. Except blue." he chuckled. Thor squatted beside him. "We have given him herbs that keep him unconscious for most of the time. He cannot take the pain, and the screams..."

Thor stood quickly, walking onto the balcony and leaned against the closed doors. "Thor?" Tony said coming over to him.

"I do not like seeing him like this. He is my brother, and he has done many horrible things in his life. I will admit that. Some for good reasons, others for bad. But whatever he has done...I do not like seeing him like this. I do not know...what I would do without him." he said.

"I think I know what's wrong with him. But I don't think I can help him without touching him." he said. Thor looked at him. "You know what is wrong?" Thor asked. Tony shrugged. "If it's the same as last time, then I'm guessing that he has another little...I guess you can call it a parasite. When I took it out, it had almost knawed its way into Loki's lung. That's why he'd been coughing up blood." he said, pulling out the container with the parasite in it. Suprisingly it was still alive, but moving weakly. Thor frowned, looking at it in disgust.

"I now know that Stark. I was there...well when he coughed up the blood during his imprisonment with your S.H.I.E.L.D. men. But this is different. There is no blood coming from him. He just grows weaker. Almost as if he has been...poisoned. But that is highly unlikely. He is a master of poisons. Especially making and consuming them." Tony stared at him. "Loki drank poison?" he said. Thor nodded.

"In our youth, Loki had almost been poisoned by a woman who had been in love with him. But he did not die of it. He just got very sick. After that, I guess he discovered his immunity to toxic substances. It was quite a helpful skill when we went exploring other realms without the guidance of our mother or father. He would test certain foods for us." Thor said distantly.

"Do you love him as I do Anthony Stark?" Thor asked. "Of course. Well...not exactly like you love him. I'm kinda hoping to you know...tap that. And he did try to kill me in New York, but let's just let the past be the past." he said, with a laugh. Thor grimmaced.

"Then save my brother Man of Iron. Whatever the cost. I believe that if he has a chance to change, it is now. And it is with you."

* * *

Tony sighed, looking at Loki. He was kind of beautiful like this. The muscles of his face were relaxed in his sleeping state. Tony so badly wanted to reach out and run his fingers through the god's hair, but he restrained himself. He liked his fingers very much and didn't want to risk losing them. He turned away, preparing to go back to his room.

"Stark?" Loki moaned. Tony turned back at the sound of his voice. "Loki you're..." he began. Loki attempted a weak smile. "I know. I look terrible." he said. "No. I was gonna say awake and you should be resting." the inventor said, looking into those blood red eyes.

"Why are you here?" Loki asked. "Thor. He said you were dying. He said that you were talking about having a parasite in you and how I had removed it. So here I am." Tony said holding out his arms. Loki looked away from him. "Tony, this is different." he said. "What are you talking about. I could just go in and pull the sucker out in no time. I just have to do it without touching you. Because of the frosty thing you got goin' on there." he said.

"It's much more than that Tony. I do not want you to waste your time." he said. "What do you mean?" he said, his heart racing.

"I am sorry I brought you here. I...I just wanted to see you. Just one last time.

"This is not going to end, Tony. Just let me die."


End file.
